LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Shelf..^S-Co. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY 



THE CHURCHES' ANSWER TO THE BITTER 
CRY OF OUTCAST LONDON 



BY 



l^eu. Fra^eis Edu/ard Smiley, (T).p. 



r^^^ OF CO/V^ 



IVITI/ ILL USTRA TIONS 2, ^ (o %" 7 



1 '890'yK 

smingto^ 



-7 C- 



PHILADELPHIA 
Sunshine Publishing Company 

402, 404 & 406 Race Street 
1890 



The Library 

Oh CoNf'-KRSS 
WASHINGTON I 



<i 



6> 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by 

Francis Edward Smilby, 
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



So tng iTatljer 

NOW SERVING WITH THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT 

AND 

®o ma illotljer 

STILL SERVING WITH THE CHURCH MILITANT 

®l)is Kecord 

OF EVANGELISTIC AGGRESSION 

36 EetJerentb SDebicateb 



PRKFACB. 



In this volume the author gives a description, 
from personal observations, of the evangelistic agencies 
employed in bringing the Gospel before the five million 
inhabitants of the world's metropolis. Under favor- 
able circumstances — guided by secretaries of mission 
societies and prominent Christian workers — he visited 
the numerous evangelistic enterprises, observed their 
methods of work, and has narrated the results of 
his investigations under the following chapters. The 
author takes his readers along with him and his 
guides into the haunts of vice, the purlieus of poverty, 
the homes of the working people, and points out the 
means and methods used by missions and churches to 
bring that class of non-church-goers, vaguely classified 
as "the lapsed," under the influence of the Gospel. 
In this practical way he tries to answer the perplexing 
question, ''How shall we reach the masses?" by 
showing how others are reaching them. 

We are introduced to the successful labors of the 
London City Missionaries among the people; the 
interesting methods of the street preachers along 
the crowded highways; the midnight service of the 
Rescue Workers among the fallen, and the earnest 
efforts of the St. Giles' Mission with discharged pris- 
oners. We follow the Bible Women from room to 
room; we visit the afflicted poor with the Nursing 
Sisters ; we observe the labors of the devoted Deacon- 
esses, and thereby learn how consecrated Christians, 
with Samaritan sympathy, reach the degraded beings 
of Whitechapel and the Seven Dials. We hear the 
voice of prayer and praise and preaching in the low 
lodging-houses, jails, casual wards and infirmaries, 
where are gathered congregations from the outcasts 
of society. We visit the aggressive operations of the 
Thames Church Mission, with its boats, steam launch, 



church-ships and missionaries daily employed among 
the toilers afloat in this river parish. We are informed 
of the societies that reach out for the sailors afloat 
and ashore; of the organizations connected with 
"working churches;*' of the special services held in 
theatres; of Gospel temperance; of woman's work; 
of denominational concentration; of Christian co- 
operation — in a word, of the various philanthropic 
and evangelistic enterprises that spread like a mighty 
army throughout the vast city. 

"The Evangelization of a Great City'' will 
serve as a guide to the traveler in London, who wants 
to witness for himself these methods of home mission 
work. To the pastor it will suggest new methods of 
reaching the careless in his parish. To secretaries, 
missionaries. Sabbath-school workers — all laborers in 
the Lord's vineyard — it will show how fellow-workers 
scatter the Gospel seed among the inhabitants of this, 
"the greatest city of ancient or modern times." 

The first chapter, "The Field of Action," is sub- 
stantially the paper prepared at the request of the 
" Presbyterian Ministerial Association of Philadelphia," 
and read before that body. It is appended as an appro- 
priate introduction to the volume. 

This contribution to evangelistic literature is sent 
forth in the prayerful hope that it may deepen interest 
in the practical methods of aggressive Christianity, 
and dispel the pessimistic incubus from the minds of 
unbelievers by revealing the prophetic conquests, on 
hard-fought fields, of the glorious Gospel of Christ. 

Francis Edward Smiley. 

Philadelphia^ Penna. 



CONTE^NTS. 



The Field of Action i 

From House to House 13 

With Rescue Workers 31 

Open-Air Preaching 49 

Popular Religious Services 64 

The Salvationists' Warfare 72 

Reformation of Criminals 85 

Sailors Afloat and Ashore 97 

Saving the Children 112 

Mildmay's Mission Work 126 

The Gospel Among Outcasts 139 

The River Parish 147 

The Ragged Schools 161 

Working Churches 173 

Gospel Temperance 185 

Women's Work for Women 189 

Co-operative Church Work 198 

The Congregational Union 204 

The Wesleyan Forward Movement 208 

Sowing Beside All Waters 215 

Practical Philanthropy 224 



CHAPTER I. 

THE FIELD OF ACTION. 

TONDON ! There is little need of an exclamation 
^^ point to call attention to the greatest city of 
ancient or modern times. Its geographical position 
lies about the centre of the most densely populated 
half of the globe. It is the monetary and commercial 
centre of the world ; the first in population and civili- 
zation ; the greatest in commerce and in crime. 

Taking a bird's-eye view from St. Paul's or The 
Monument, one can hardly believe that this smoky city 
of brick and stone, of domes and spires, of massive 
warehouses and lofty tenements, stretching away to- 
wards the horizon, was once the Roman Lindum — 
** little more than a collection of huts on a dry spot in 
the midst of a marsh." This small patch of humanity 
has gradually spread, until the one square mile of the 
original site now covers an area of nearly seven hun- 
dred square miles, honeycombed by 6600 miles of 
streets, which are nightly illumined by a million lamps. 
There are 646,000 dwellings spread over 442,000 acres, 
containing a population of nearly five million. Here 
a birth is registered every three minutes and a death 
every five minutes. Every year there are added over 
100,000 inhabitants. Its population is now larger 
than the ten largest cities of the United States or the 
five largest of the world ; and, should the present rate 
of increase continue, in fifty years London will contain 
the almost incredible population of eight million souls. 
So great is the crush of commerce on its crowded 
thoroughfares, and so long are the distances from 
centre to circumference, that its thrifty denizens must 



2 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

fly over the heads of the sluggish crowds, or burrow 
beneath their feet, to reach their distant destinations. 

The cosmopolitan character of the population is as 
striking as its numbers. The Scotchmen in London 
outnumber those in Edinburgh, and the Irish those in 
Dublin. There are more Jews than in Palestine, and 
more Roman Catholics than in Rome itself Like 
Jerusalem on the feast day, you will find on London 
streets distinctive types of almost every nationality 
under the sun. 

London is urbes in urbe. It boasts of its Spanish 
colony, its little Germany, its France and Italy, in 
whose several colonies we find the continental for- 
eigners, speaking the languages and living the lives of 
their native lands. 

London is a city of superlatives. It is the richest 
and the poorest, the most sacred and the most profane. 
Plenty and poverty, intelligence and ignorance, purity 
and vice, stand out in striking antithesis. The average 
dweller in the West End is as ignorant of the condi- 
tion of his near neighbor in the East End as he is of 
the inhabitants of Thibet. Whatever vague informa- 
tion he has of either is received through the newspaper. 
There is little intercourse between Westminster and 
Whitechapel. On the one side are the classes, on the 
other the masses; and dives seldom crosses the busy 
city, that lies like a great gulf between, to visit Lazarus 
in poverty and misery. 

London is a city of contrasts. It is estimated that 
within the confines of the metropolitan area there are 
half a million people who awake every morning, and 
know not how nor where to obtain their daily bread ; 
and yet the crumbs which fall from the rich man's 
table would feed this hungry multitude. Seventeen 
men and women were counted asleep upon the stone 
pavement of Westminster bridge (a small part of the 
large army which slept on the streets that night), and 



THE FIELD OF ACTION. 



upon the same evening ;^8o were given for a box at 
an elite opera. The price of \^\o bouquets at a " draw- 
ing-room " exceeded the yearly income of one of the 
oldest and most aggressive evangelistic societies. 

London is a city of extremes. Walk through the 
West End, where money is freely spent and the fash- 
ions are lavishly displayed. Behold its royal palaces, 
attractive mansions, aristocratic clubs, beautiful parks, 
fragrant gardens and spacious thoroughfares. Then 
turn to the East End, with its murky docks, narrow 
streets, dirty purlieus and reeking tenements, and one 
cannot realize that he is in the same cit>^ 

Saunter through Hyde Park on a fine June evening 
between the hours of five and seven o'clock. You are 
in a veritable paradise, surrounded by chirping birds, 
beautiful flowers and spurting fountains. The air, 
laden with the fragrance of early summer, vibrates 
under the sounds of distant music and is noisy with the 
voices and laughter of a merry throng. Here are 
assembled the fashionable aristocracy, w^hose wealth is 
revealed in a long line of "elegant equipages and 
high-bred horses in handsome trappings, moving con- 
tinually to and fro, presided over by sleek coachmen 
and powdered lackeys and occupied by some of the 
most beautiful and exquisitely dressed women in the 
world." 

Turn from this Vanity Fair in London's fashionable 
park to another scene in the same city. Between the 
hours of nine and eleven, that same evening, if coura- 
geous enough, venture, with a protector, into White- 
chapel. The streets are filled with a motley throng of 
dejected creatures, some with infants in their arms or 
children dragging at their sides, who issue from cellars 
and garrets, from courts and alleys, into the highway, 
seeking, at that hour of the night, their precarious 
living, happy if they can beg, steal or earn enough to 
pay for a " doss " in a neighboring low lodging-house. 



4 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

The dimly lighted streets are lined on either side with 
tall tenements and low rookeries, where many of these 
poor unfortunates occupy a room or a closet which 
they call home ! The air is odorous with the fumes of 
beer and tobacco, emitted from the numerous over- 
crowded groggeries that infest the place. The startling 
music that strikes your ear issues from a rattling piano 
and screeching fiddle in a low concert saloon, where 
the applause testifies to the appreciation of the audi- 
tors, composed largely of young men and women, 
with not a few boys and girls among them. The 
laughter and voices heard here are such as is forced 
in hollow sound from poisoned lungs and half-stupe- 
fied brains. Contrast such scenes as these within a 
few hours of each other — the one in the West End, 
the other in the East End — and you will rub your 
eyes and ask : ^' Are we still in the same city and under 
the same sky ? " And remember that this is one only 
of the many haunts of poverty and profligacy that lie 
off the commercial highways of the great metropolis. 

How appropriately has the City of the Thames 
been likened to a strange woman, whose noble brow 
and jeweled hair glisten with costly gems; while her 
coarse skirts drag through the pestilential mire of 
filthy streets ! 

In such a city, with its teeming population and 
stretch of territory, it is impossible to conceal the 
wretchedness and wickedness that abound on every 
hand. The agencies of the devil are active night and 
day. "The beast" has left the conspicuous imprint of 
his cloven foot upon the life of this fair city. Intem- 
perance — that noxious spring which feeds the polluted 
pools of vice and misery — is fearfully prevalent in 
every nook and corner of the metropolis. Its wither- 
ing stream penetrates the homes of poor and rich 
alike, and bears yearly upon its deadly current tens of 
thousands of unfortunate victims to early graves. The 



THE FIELD OF ACTION. 



publican plies his profitable trade under the encourage- 
ment of the government every day in the week — as 
well in the palatial saloons under the towers of West- 
minster, as in the lowest groggeries in the purlieus of 
the Seven Dials. In one street every sixth house 
counted was a tavern, and no less than two thousand 
persons were noted upon a Saturday night entering a 
single gin palace. Pauperism, that sickly offspring of 
intemperance, has spread to alarming proportions. 
The official returns of one week report 92,528 paupers 
relieved by the authorities alone ; while the total num- 
ber of vagrants relieved on the last day of the week 
was 1 1 17, of whom 883 were men, 203 women and 
thirty-one children under sixteen years of age — and 
this in the balmy month of September ! 

The prevalence of crime is startling. It is partly 
revealed in the daily reports of the newspapers, in the 
records of the courts of justice, in the ninety thousand 
law-breakers that are taken into custody every year, 
and in the twelve thousand constabulary that are sup- 
ported for available duty. London is responsible for 
more than one-third of the crime committed in the 
entire country. 

The social evil, that gnawing cancer upon the body 
politic, is vaunted in almost every street. It is esti- 
mated that there are fifty thousand women employed 
in this traffic. 

The question of overcrowding, which has been the 
subject of so much parliamentary inquiry and legisla- 
tion, is one of vital interest to the Christian workers, 
who find great difficulty in interesting families, of six 
and eight members, in the Gospel, when the aged and 
the young alike, persons of both sexes, are huddled 
together in a single room. It is an ascertained fact 
that in this great city 163,000 families are thus herded 
together. The last census gave the population of 
certain parts of the metropolis as five hundred and 



6 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

six hundred to the acre, while that of England and 
Wales was only seven to the acre. But a recent census 
reveals in the neighborhood of Spitalfields (an area 
covering a little over three acres) a population of 2307 
souls. 

With such forces of evil molding this vast popula- 
tion, we are not surprised to see the Sabbath openly 
desecrated, to hear socialistic agitators denounce gov- 
ernment and property, to observe infidelity rampant, 
and skepticism scattering, by speech and press, the 
most blasphemous doctrines, and to hear that there 
are over a million, and, in some densely populated 
parts of the city, ten per cent., of its inhabitants who 
are indifferent to religious instruction and never attend 
the worship of God. 

Do not judge, from this dark picture, that the 
noble city has been abandoned to the emissaries of 
the devil. The evils to be grappled with are manifold, 
and their magnitude is apt to appall the most optimis- 
tic philosophy; but the Christian, cheered by hope and 
strengthened by faith, does not despair of reclaiming 
this desolated land, and making the desert to bloom 
and to blossom like the rose. 

We gladly turn from the malignant forces that 
seek to destroy the moral life of London, to view, 
in succeeding chapters, those benign forces, generated 
by love, that oppose with irrepressible energy every evil 
tendency that manifests itself. If the devil is active, 
so is the church. If the demands upon Christian 
sympathy are great, they are adequately met by phil- 
anthropic efforts and evangelistic aggression. The 
best idea one can get of the number and variety of 
these organizations is to spend the month of May in 
London, when almost every day is occupied by the 
anniversary of some of its ten hundred societies. One 
cannot see where there is room for another institution. 
There are at least one thousand agencies recorded in 



THE FIELD OF ACTION, 



the Charities' Register and Digest, at work relieving 
distress, both physical and spiritual. There are two 
thousand places of worship, with all the evangelistic 
agencies for aggressive work, almost one-half of which 
belong to the Church of England, in three hundred of 
whose churches there is a daily service; while in the 
great Cathedral of St. Paul there are no less than six 
services daily. In most of these pulpits the Gospel is 
proclaimed by eloquent and orthodox pastors. More- 
over, there are a number of churches exclusively for 
foreigners. There are the Greek, Bavarian, Sardinian, 
Danish, Dutch, French, Welsh, Swiss, Italian, Polish, 
German, Spanish and Swedish churches, wherein divine 
worship is conducted in foreign tongues. 

In addition to their usual services, many of the 
London churches carry on numerous mission enter- 
prises among the poor. They send out evangelistic 
bands to conduct meetings in the open air ; they sup- 
port colporteurs, Bible readers and missionaries, who 
devote their entire time visiting among the people of 
the parish. 

To reach those who will not attend the churches, spe- 
cial services are held in concert halls, theatres and hun- 
dreds of mission rooms scattered throughout the city, 
where attractive music, spirited singing and brief Gospel 
addresses interest, instruct and influence many to a 
better life. There are special agencies that look after 
the spiritual welfare of the soldiers ; others that care 
for the sailors. The policemen, the firemen and the 
post-office employes also have their special services. 
There are missionaries who visit the market places, 
railroad stations and the cab stands. There are hun- 
dreds employed in colportage work, in tract distribu- 
tion and speaking to individuals as opportunity offers. 
There are missions to the Jews, Catholics and foreign- 
ers ; while the thousands of toilers along the river 
are not neglected. The hospitals, almshouses and 



8 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

penitentiaries are visited, and weekly services held 
therein. The criminal is met as he comes from the 
prison gate in the early morning; the prostitute is 
accosted as she plies her trade in the streets at midnight; 
the homeless urchin is aroused from his hard couch, 
with, literally, "a stone for his pillow,'' and provided 
with comfortable bed and board, and brought under the 
influence of a Christian home. The message of salva- 
tion is proclaimed through tens of thousands of Bibles 
and Scripture portions, tons of tracts and numerous 
volumes of Christian literature, which are scattered 
broadcast through the agencies of the Bible, Religious 
Tract, and Christian Knowledge Societies, whose 
publications you find in the hotels, at the railway 
stations and on the street corners. 

Nor does this Christian charity remain at home. 
Evangelists are sent out to neighboring towns and 
cities ; mission boats cruise about the coasts, visiting 
the coastguards and lightships in their isolation ; hos- 
pital ships are dispatched to the fishing fleets in the 
North Sea, to administer both temporal and spiritual 
comforts to the toilers of the deep. And yet all this 
expensive service does not diminish the magnificent 
fund annually contributed to send the Gospel to heathen 
lands. No class seems to be overlooked. All are 
brought under the direct appeal of the Gospel messen- 
ger — all hear the "glad tidings of great joy." 

In addition to these united efforts, there are many 
individuals engaged in evangelistic work. England's 
Christian queen becomes an evangelist to the families 
of the poor crofters in their Highland cabins, and other 
members of the royal family count it a privilege to 
visit the poor and distressed in the hospitals and asy- 
lums. Members of the nobility lay aside the cares of 
state to preach the Gospel to the poor. The Christian 
banker, merchant and editor supplements his daily 
labor by evangelistic work after business hours. He 



THE FIELD OF ACTION, 



erects a building or rents a hall wherein to gather the 
lost sheep ; while he himself often becomes the pastor 
of the flock. Sons and daughters of the aristocracy, 
students of the universities, representatives of the 
learned professions, have given up their homes to 
live among the people, and have consecrated their 
time, talents and means for the " help of the Lord 
against the mighty." And what shall we say of those 
unknown and unregistered Christians who spend many 
hours of the night and day in distributing tracts, read- 
ing the Scriptures in the homes of the poor, address- 
ing groups on the street corners, seeking out the most 
wretched and neglected, and bringing them under 
Gospel influence ? 

Back of all this personal and combined effort for 
extending the kingdom of Christ is the sympathy and 
encouragement of the English government, whose 
sovereign bears the title *' Defender of the Faith." 
Everywhere one sees, amid the surrounding wicked- 
ness, traces of the nation's trust in Almighty God and 
professions of Christianity. It is inscribed upon her 
chief commercial establishment, in the humble decla- 
ration, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness 
thereof" Upon her public buildings, her monuments 
and fountains. Scriptural quotations are carved in 
stone. The corner-stones of her banks, temples and 
institutions are laid with fitting religious ceremonies 
and dedicated to the '' Giver of every good and per- 
fect gift." 

These evangelistic agencies, stationed like a mighty 
army throughout the metropolis — contesting every foot 
of territory against the encroachments of the Kingdom 
of Darkness, and winning glorious conquests for the 
Kingdom of Light — have weakened the power of the 
destroyer and defended London from his complete 
mastery. 

There have been marked improvements during the 
last thirty years in the moral and social condition of 



10 TitE EVAI^GELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

the people. London is wicked, but London is grow- 
ing better. Official statistics testify to a healthier 
atmosphere, and the Christian visitor notices a decided 
improvement in the moral and social condition of the 
people. The prisons have fewer occupants, the poor- 
houses fewer boarders, and the public-houses fewer 
customers, than a few decades ago. The wage-workers 
live better and dress neater. They have discarded 
corduroys for tweeds, and fustian for neat black clothes. 
The wife and mother keeps herself and children more 
tidy and her home more inviting. A few pictures or 
chromos, in rough frames, or no frames at all, adorn 
the walls ; a flower-pot or box, with a bright geranium 
or an aspiring fern, decorates the windows. The peo- 
ple show more respect for the clergy, and even wel- 
come the Christian visitor. The minister is invited to 
the workingmen's clubs, and his address is cordially 
received. The deepening interest in spiritual things 
is manifest in the increased attendance at the churches 
and other places where religious services are held. 

Through open-air preaching, colportage work and 
mission services, the people have been brought more 
into contact with the Gospel, and through the visits of 
the Bible readers. Christian nurses and devoted dea- 
conesses, the poor are beginning to learn that, after 
all, the church is their friend. This is evidenced in 
the experience of a young curate, whose open-air serv- 
ices in one of the courts of his parish was protected 
by five men of notorious character, who agreed, 
among themselves, to see '^fair play,'' because the 
parson was kind to the women and little ones. Con- 
trast this with Bishop Bloomfield's experience in being 
pelted with stones when he went to lay the corner- 
stone of his first church at Bethnal Green. 

We do not for a moment mean to imply that the 
millennium has come, and that this improvement has 
been made uniformly throughout all the lower classes. 



THE FIELD OF ACTION. 11 

It has been noted principally among the working peo- 
ple who, twenty-five years ago, were very indifferent 
to the claims of religion. Such is the testimony of 
many of the clergymen laboring in the East End. 

AH the Christian world is anxiously watching the 
contest that is being waged in London between sin 
and righteousness, between the followers of Christ and 
the followers of Belial. This anxiety arises from the 
intimate relationship existing between this noble city 
and the cities of other lands. The throb of London's 
life is felt throughout the world. If her moral pulse 
is weak, the effect is visible on people that live afar. 
Moreover, every city must witness the same struggle 
within its walls as is now being waged in the British 
metropolis. It is only a question of time when the 
fair cities of other English-speaking lands will house a 
population as large as London. They must face the 
same enemies and resist the same giant evils that 
threaten their most sacred institutions. Places that 
are designated upon the map as towns and villages 
to-day will, in a few years, be metamorphosed into 
cities with teeming populations. The same social and 
religious problems will arise. The ''bitter cry'' will be 
heard. The ''sweating commission" will be appointed. 
The burning question of" city evangelization " will have 
to be solved. Those who live in the cities are already 
in the midst of these questions. 

"How shall we reach the masses?" is the subject 
of interesting discussion in our conferences. It fur- 
nishes a topic for elaborate essays in our ministers' 
meetings, and it meets us more practically in our daily 
parish ministrations — in the indifference of the people 
to the ordinances of religion, and in the empty pews. 
Sabbath after Sabbath, that reflect the voice in hollow 
echo through the sanctuary. 

We will do well, therefore, to turn to the mother 
country, which has given us so much profitable instruc- 
tion in art, science, literature and law, and learn from 



12 



THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 



its Christian activity the methods adopted and the 
success attained in evangelistic work among the mill- 
ions of the chief city of the world. We will thereby 
be better able to grapple with these same evils before 
they reach the same threatening proportions, and 
thereby stay the destructive onslaught of the enemy, 
by weakening and scattering his gathering forces. 




CHAPTER 11. 

FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 

T "\ rE ARE resting in the office of the Secretary of 
^ ^ the London City Mission, after inspecting the 
commodious building recently erected in Bridewell 
Place for the use of the society, at a cost of ^10,000. 
From this centre of religious influence go forth daily, 
into the highways and byways of the vast metropolis, 
nearly five hundred missionaries, who herald to the 
poor the welcome invitation to the Gospel feast. From 
this distributing agency thousands of Bibles, tons of 
tracts and pamphlets, innumerable religious books and 
letters are sent upon their mission of light and life. 
Here are the offices of the committees and Secretaries, 
also the large conference hall and the library, contain- 
ing nearly five thousand volumes of theological and 
standard works for the u^e of the missionaries. 

The Secretary informs us that the entire force 
engaged in this gigantic Gospel enterprise, as com- 
mitteemen, officers. Secretaries, Superintendents and 
missionaries, numbers a thousand earnest Christian 
workers, whose far-reaching influence is revealed by 
the following summary of one year's work: 

Total number of Missionaries 481 

Visits and calls paid 3,288,763 

Of which to the sick and dying 279,047 

Testaments and portions distributed .... 22,669 

Religious tracts distributed 4,541,094 

Books lent 60,244 

In-door Meetings and Bible Classes held . . 44,539 
Additional in-door Meetings in factories, 

workhouses, penitentiaries, etc 24,005 

Persons visited or conversed with in facto- 
ries, etc 315,610 



14 THE EVANGELIZATIOI^ OF A GREAT CITY, 

Out-door services held 8,233 

Readings of Scripture in visitation 825,044 

New Communicants 2,068 

Restored to Church Communion 357 

FamiHes induced to commence Family Prayer 93 1 

Drunkards reclaimed 1^975 

Unmarried couples induced to marry .... 198 
Fallen women admitted to asylums, restored 

to their homes, or otherwise rescued . . . 327 

Shops closed on the Lord's Day 103 

Induced to attend Public Worship 5,447 

Children sent to Sunday Schools 5,409 

Adults visited who died 7,773 

Of whom visited by the Missionary only . . 1,954 

Total Receipts for the year ^87,738, 9^. 

The successful equipment of such an organization 
was not the labor of a day. Its history is like the 
development of the harvest — " first the blade, then the 
ear; after that the full corn in the ear.'' 

When the City Mission was established, the tide of 
London morality had reached its lowest ebb. Few, if 
any, of the social and moral reformative measures 
were then upon the statute books. The overcrowded 
condition of the poor and the immorality of some dis- 
tricts may be inferred from the sobriquet given to cer- 
tain localities, such as ''Jack Ketch's Warren," *' Little 
Hell," "The Devil's Acre," etc. Strange as it may 
appear, some of these haunts of vice were in the very 
midst of the central parishes, whose circumference, 
like deceitful fruit, was attractive, but whose heart was 
rotten. The sinks of iniquity were almost inaccessible 
to anyone but the denizens, who could burrow through 
the narrow courts and winding alleys into the wretched 
habitations of gamblers, thieves, drunkards and beg- 
gars. A criminal once within these precincts was 
comparatively safe from the law's punishment ; for no 
officer, even if he were brave enough to venture in, 
could find his man or bring him out. The members 
of these communities spent their time either lounging 



PROM nomE TO HOUSE. 15 

in the innumerable groggeries, penny gaffs and rat-pits 
that infested the district, or plundering their more 
industrious and respectable neighbors. 

The churches were indifferent, both as to their duty 
toward, and the danger from, these neglected masses. 
The few spasmodic efforts put forth to reach them 
were obviously perfunctory. The Established and 
Non-Conformist bodies, instead of uniting their forces 
against the evils that menaced society, were at war 
with each other — wrangling over non-essential theo- 
logical subtlties and petty political jealousies. But 
God had a few faithful ones in this wicked Nineveh. 
Here and there, as upon the desert air, arose the voice 
of this faithful company pleading for " heathen London." 
That prayer was soon to be answered in a most remarka- 
ble manner. 

About this time there were gathered in a room, in 
the city of Dublin, a few Christians, whose hearts 
yearned for the godless multitudes in the metropolis 
across the sea. Among them was David Nasmith, a 
Scotch merchant, who had abandoned a lucrative 
commercial position in Glasgow to devote himself to 
the work of bringing the Gospel to the homes of the 
unchristian masses in his native city, and who had 
organized many similar societies both in Europe and 
America. These Irish Christians pledged their prayers 
and purses to this man, if he would go to London and 
organize a city mission, which proposition he promptly 
accepted. 

When Nasmith reached London, his scheme was 
met with a cold indifference sufficient to chill the ardor 
of a less consecrated soul. After laboring in vain for 
several weeks to secure the co-operation of the churches, 
he failed to find even two representative men who would 
act upon his committees. At last he invited several 
sympathizers to meet at his own house. In answer to 
this call, two friends met with him at six o'clock on 



16 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 



the morning of the sixteenth of May, 1835. After 
devotional exercises, Mr. Nasmith offered a resolution 
that those present form themselves into " The London 
City Mission Society." The constitution and by-laws 
were read; Mr. Dear seconded the resolution; his 
friend held up his hand ; the motion was unanimously 
carried, and these three men commended the society 
to the care of Almighty God. 

The object of the London City Mission is to extend 
the knowledge of the Gospel, especially among the 
poor inhabitants of London and its vicinity, *' without 
reference to denominational distinctions and the pecu- 
liarities of church government." This object is effected 
by the employment of paid lay agents, who devote their 
time exclusively to the work assigned them in a par- 
ticular district. 

No sooner was the machinery of the society put in 
active operation than the hitherto indifference of many 
Christians assumed an attitude of decided opposition. 
"The innovation of lay workers would subvert the 
influence of the clergy," and *' the enormous expense 
of the undertaking rendered it impracticable," were 
specimens of the objections urged against the infant 
society. The archbishop of the diocese went so far 
as to forbid any of his clergy to loan their churches 
or to serve the society in any capacity whatever.* 
Notwithstanding this opposition, the work of the 
society commended itself to the community at large, 
as evidenced by the fact that upon the occasion of its 
first anniversary the yearly receipts were reported at 
£2J\\, 9^., 8<^., and forty missionaries had been sent 
into the most wretched parts of London. 

In the third year of its history the society, with its 
limited force of missionaries, undertook the task of 



* It is in justice, however, to the archbishop to state that this embargo 
was withdrawn when he became convinced of the society's usefulness, and 
he himself afterwards became one of its most helpful supporters. 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, 17 

supplying every destitute family with a copy of the 
Scriptures. As a result of this canvass, there were 
found six thousand families who stated they had never 
possessed such a book as the Bible; while many others 
were found who had been without a copy for many 
years. There were distributed at this time, through 
the generous co-operation of the Bible Society, 35,393 
copies of the Scriptures. 

Into the darkest and most dangerous communities, 
where even the policemen would not venture alone, 
where drunkenness, wretchedness and starvation 
stalked forth in hideous and appalling form, the mis- 
sionary searched his way. He picked his steps along 
narrow streets, where the venturesome stranger was 
garroted in open day. He penetrated murky courts 
and dark closes, where gambling was carried on upon 
the doorsteps, and where half-naked children ran wildly 
about; he climbed rickety stairs, so adjusted as to pitch 
him from top to bottom; he entered dismally over- 
crowded rooms, whose drunken occupants were rnore 
willing for a scuffle than a sermon ; he discovered set- 
tlements where only one-fifth of the children attended 
school one day of the week, and where 114 adults out 
of 439 families could not read the Bible placed in their 
hands. Into such dangerous places and among such 
barbarous people, with no other weapon than sancti- 
fied common sense, a love for perishing souls, and the 
message of the Gospel of Christ, " the man with the 
Book " forced his way. 

This pioneer work was by no means carried on 
with impunity. These faithful messengers were met 
with a determined antagonism. The dark looks of 
debauched men and women, and the suspicious scru- 
tiny of ''jail birds," had to be bravely met; curses, 
garbage and stones had to be patiently endured, until 
their suspicion at his self-denial gave place to curiosity 
at his strange mission. Then they admired his cour- 
age, confided in his friendship and appreciated his 



18 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

sacrifices.* At first he was scarcely tolerated to intrude 
upon the jealously guarded precincts of the commu- 
nity ; after a time he was permitted to mingle among 
the groups of men, and at last invited — aye, welcomed 
— into their cheerless rooms, to speak to the " women 
and children;'' but it was noticed that the man him- 
self was often present to hear what the " preacher had 
to say." Thus family after family was added to the 
visiting list, until he was compelled to divide his dis- 
trict with another missionary. 

When he took up his home among them, he became 
the confidant of his ungodly neighbors. To him they 
unbosomed their secrets and unfolded their characters, 
until he became more familiar with their history than 
the law officers themselves. In this way Missionary 
Jackson, who labored for forty-four years among the 
criminals of Goodman's Fields, when it was one of the 
worst districts of London, became their trusted friend. 
Such an influence did this godly man exercise over 
them that his weekly prayer-meeting became, literally, 
a " den of thieves." So frequently were calls made 
upon him by penitents, that he found it necessary to 
have a room, designated ** The Thieves' Parlor," fitted 
up in his house, where he could hold confidential 
conferences with his visitors at all hours of the day 
and night. 

The society began its work at the bottom, and 
branched outward into better localities as funds and 
workers permitted. From these dangerous and dismal 
districts, from this lowest stage of humanity, buried 
out of sight of public gaze, the society's work spread 
into the more respectable quarters of the mechanics 



* During the ravages of Asiatic cholera, in 1854, the missionary visited 
the sick and dying, to many of whom his was the only voice that directed 
their thoughts heavenward. He, himself, succumbing to the ravages 
of the fever, was borne to heaven in chariots of fire, to receive the 
martyr's crown. 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 19 

and tradesmen. Here, also, was found much to 
occupy the time and talents of the missionary. True, 
there was not the same squalor and wretchedness to 
be seen as in the rookeries, but there were other 
effects of human depravity that needed to be brought 
under the refining power of the Gospel. Overcrowd- 
ing was dangerously common ; intemperance was fear- 
fully prevalent; the church ordinances were sadly 
neglected; the Sabbath was shockingly desecrated, 
and skeptical and socialistic principles were rife among 
these sons of toil. 

The missionaries attacked these places with forti- 
tude and earnestness. They visited daily from house 
to house; they entered the workshops, factories and 
the public houses, and met the heads of families ; they 
won their way by patient and persistent effort, holding 
prayer meetings both in the shops and homes, and 
prepared the people for the visitation of the parish 
ministers, who succeeded in winning some of them to 
the church. They were also successful in arousing 
public opinion against the wretched accommodations 
afforded in the overcrowded dwellings. This led to 
the organization of the Marylebone Association, the 
pioneer company for " Improving the Dwellings of the 
Industrial Classes." The free tracts, books and Bibles 
left in the homes supplanted pernicious pamphlets and 
infidel literature, while more temperate habits and a 
stricter observance of the Sabbath became manifest. 

To keep pace with the rapidly extending city, mis- 
sionary after missionary was sent out to occupy new 
districts; so that when the society reached its miajority, 
there were 320 consecrated evangelists laboring among 
the masses. 

A fundamental rule of the society is, that a definite 
part of the missionary's salary be guaranteed by the 
district to w^hich he is assigned. If it be contiguous 
to wealthy neighbors, they are required to raise the 



20 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

entire amount. If the district be populated by an 
ordinary class of poor people, they are required to 
raise one-half of his salary; but, if it is inhabited by 
a poor and necessitous people, the society defrays the 
entire salary of the missionary. 

The primary object of the society was exclusively 
domiciliary visitation ; but, by remarkable providences, 
the missionary was led to extend his influence among 
particular classes, who could be reached and reasoned 
with at their employment more readily and effectually 
than at their homes. The policemen were of this class. 
No one had a better opportunity of observing the 
effects of the missionaries' teachings than these offi- 
cers, who were brought so often in contact with the 
same rough class. They saw those who formerly 
gave them the most trouble transformed into new 
men. The drunkard became sober, the harlot became 
virtuous, the thief honest, and the vagrant industrious. 
The police noticed that their homes were made more 
tidy, the children were better clothed and fed, and that 
the family soon moved into a more respectable neigh- 
borhood. Thus the constable's work was considerably 
diminished, and he became most friendly to the man 
who proved so serviceable. The missionary, always 
on the alert, took advantage of this intimacy. He 
called upon the policeman at his home, and sought 
to arouse in him and his family a personal interest in 
Christ. The murder of an officer, by burglars, at 
Highbury, drew the attention of the society to the 
constabulary. A circular letter of a religious nature 
was written, and a copy addressed to the five thousand 
metropolitan constables. This opened the way for 
the missionaries' visits to the police stations, where 
books and papers were distributed, addresses given, 
and prayer meetings and religious conversations held. 
There are now three missionaries engaged among the 
police and their families, and, being highly respected, 
exercise a good influence over the force. 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, 21 

Each of these special missions has an interesting 
history of Providential leading. Our space, however, 
permits us to mention only briefly the following 
twenty-five particular spheres of work which employ 
about one hundred missionaries, most of whom are 
adapted, by special training, for work among the 
classes with whom they labor. 

There are four missionaries engaged among the 
employes in the post-ofifices, also one who visits the 
firemen at their stations, and two for the soldiers at 
their barracks. The bakers, boatmen and drovers 
all have their own missionaries, who are constantly 
seeking opportunities to interest these men in the 
Gospel. Four are assigned to the factories and two 
to the navies and public works, who take advantage 
of the dinner-hour to read and expound the Word of 
God. There are thirteen assigned to the foreigners, 
so that every man can hear the Gospel presented in 
his native language. One of these earnest workers 
has studied several Asiatic languages, that he might 
reach the sailors in the London docks. The cabmen 
are visited by day and night. Prayer meetings are 
held at the street stations and cab shelters. There 
are missionaries to the coachmen, stablemen and 
grooms ; to the club-house and hotel servants ; to 
the Welsh, gypsies and the Jews. Six busy workers 
attend to the spiritual wants of the omnibus and tram- 
car men. Twenty-five visit the public houses and 
coffee rooms. The theatre and railway employes each 
have a missionary. The workhouses, lodging houses, 
hospitals and infirmaries are visited, and their inmates 
directed to the cross. 

It would be an interesting study to trace the numer- 
ous branches of philanthropic efforts that have sprung 
from the root of this society. Take, for example, the 
Ragged Schools. A missionary was appalled at the 
neglect and degradation of the children in his district. 



22 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

Their only example was idleness, their lessons swear- 
ing and stealing. These waifs were gathered into a 
room, and a few pious Christians induced to meet and 
teach them. Thus grew up the extensive system of 
Ragged Schools, which extended throughout the poor 
districts of the metropolis. Refuges and reformatories 
soon sprang up to receive the rescued children, whose 
feet were turned into paths of usefulness and honesty. 

Many other branches of work were similarly stimu- 
lated by the society, and then handed over to a 
separate organization. The visitation of the night 
houses led to the Midnight Meeting movement, and 
the Preventive and Rescue work arose through the 
startling reports of the missionaries. The Drinking- 
fountain Association was organized to counteract the 
influence of the public houses, and Christians were 
stimulated to send out Scripture readers, Bible women, 
and begin open-air meetings. 

The influence of the missionary in the cause of 
moral, social and sanitary reforms of the past fifty 
years is inestimable. When Parliament desires infor- 
mation upon the condition of the lower classes, the 
city missionary is summoned before the committee. 
When a philanthropist wishes to make a personal 
investigation of the needs of the poor, the service of 
the city missionary is secured. When the authorities 
of Oxford University send a warning to the under- 
graduates attending the annual boat races, the same 
agency is selected to deliver the sealed messages to 
every man wearing the deep blue to be found in the 
night houses in West London. Does the Lord Mayor 
wish to satisfy himself as to the extent of the Sabbath 
desecration? The missionary accompanies him and 
shows him " Rag Fair." Does Lord Shaftsbury seek 
an interview with the thieves ? The missionary gathers 
four hundred of them to a special service, where his 
lordship may inquire into their necessities. During 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 23 

the Crimean war, when the messages of the death 
of husbands and fathers and friends were to be con- 
veyed to the bereaved famihes, the government selected 
a city missionary for the sad and delicate duty, fur- 
nishing him with a daily list of the dead. 

The missionary is the guide to the student of the 
social and religious problems of the city. He acts as 
a distributing agent of the publications of the Tract 
and Bible Societies. He advises the almoners where 
to find the worthy poor. He is the bulwark against 
the spread of infidelity and socialism among the work- 
ing classes. He is the counselor, instructor and sym- 
pathetic friend of the poor and needy. He is, in a 
word, the link between the church and the masses, 
educating them for transmission to the pastoral care. 

We are not surprised to find such services appre- 
ciated by the citizens of London, nor to learn of the 
practical support given the society from its foundation. 
Almost every annual statement, from the first report, 
has shown an increase both in the receipts and in the 
number of missionaries employed. Several of the 
largest corporations, such as the London and North- 
western Railroad and the East India Dock Company, 
assume the entire support of a missionary among their 
employes. 

The city missionary has lowered the high wall of 
exclusiveness that so long kept apart the Established 
and the Non-Conformist Churches, by uniting four hun- 
dred of their influential members, both clerical and 
lay, upon the committees. He has demonstrated the 
efficiency of a paid lay agency, so long disparaged, 
for enlisting the lowest of the population in the serv- 
ice of Christ. He is a powerful temperance advo- 
cate, both by precept and example. One missionary 
alone, during his term of service, secured nearly fifteen 
thousand pledges ; and no less than 4835 drunkards 
were hopefully reformed in a single year. A canvass 



24 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

of the entire city was made in the interest of temper- 
ance, when two hundred and fifty thousand copies of a 
twelve-page tract, entitled " The Way to be Healthy 
and Happy,'' were distributed. 

The city missionary has carried the Truth into the 
out-of-the-way places, where the inhabitants never 
heard more of the Gospel than the ringing of the 
church bell. He has gone into the fairs, gypsies' 
camps, hop gardens and race courses, telling the story 
of God's love, and has induced many prodigals to 
return to their Father's house. 

In each of the three hundred halls and rooms, 
scattered over the city, several services are held weekly. 
Indeed, the missionary has made it difficult for the 
careless to escape from the hearing of the Gospel, as 
illustrated by the experience of an ungodly shoemaker, 
who, in order to free himself from the reproof and 
pleading of the missionary, moved from Stepney to 
Bow. Ten days after his settlement in his new quar- 
ters, and when he had begun to congratulate himself 
upon his escape, he was surprised at his Sunday work 
by another missionary even more earnest than the first. 
To escape from him he moved again. This time he 
was found by the public-house missionary and accom- 
panied home. Soon after this he was taken ill, and 
removed to Guy's hospital. Here another missionary 
found him, and knelt by his bed and commended him 
to the mercy of God. Then the surprised patient 
exclaimed: ''There is no use bolting from you mis- 
sionaries. God must care for me to send after me in 
this way. I will try to be saved." And he was known 
to have kept his word. 

Let us acquaint ourselves with the missionaries 
who have assisted so largely in the development of 
this wonderful society. As a body, they are best seen 
in their divisions, when they present themselves at the 
mission office for their monthly stipend. They are a 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 25 



fine-looking company of men, with healthful bodies, 
cheerful countenances and intelligent minds. Every 
Saturday one of the four divisions meets in the hall for 
prayer and conference. From among the group of 
over a hundred men, whose ages range from the gray- 
haired veteran to the young probationer, you can 
select any one who, in a. single day, will teach you a 
most instructive object lesson upon the subject of 
reaching the masses. 

Let us accept the cordial invitation to accompany 
one on his daily rounds. We meet him at his home, 
in a small street off Clerkenwell road. It is a very 
unpretentious house, consisting of ten rooms. Those 
on the first floor have been converted into four class 
rooms. A larger hall in the rear serves for mission 
meetings. The upper floors are devoted to the use of 
the missionary's family. 

He is a man of robust piety and abundant tact, as 
Mr. Jeff evidenced by that day's work. The district 
visited was a bit of Old London, near St. John's Gate 
of the Old Priory. We notice that the children catch 
his hand, the old women courtesy and the men salute 
him as he passes by, with a hearty word for all. We 
enter the door of the end house of a court. A man 
coming out is hailed by the missionary with a cheer- 
ful '' Good morning," and the request: " Will you have 
one of these?" 

''What are they?" he inquires, with a quizzical 
look at me, at him, and then at the bundle of papers 
under his arm. 

"Some people call them tracts," replies the mis- 
sionary, handing him one. 

''Oh, you're a Gospel harper, eh?" 

"Well, yes ; I like to harp on a good thing." 

" I don't take any stock in such stuff, but there's a 
fellow at the head of the stairs as does. Go for him." 
And with a twinkle in his eye, he shuffles past us into 
the street. 



26 THE EVANGELIZATION 01 A GREAT CITY. 

''Well, let us go see the fellow at the top who does 
like it/' says Mr. Jeff. 

Up one, two, three, four flights of creaking stairs 
we go. Our knock is answered by a strong, husky 
voice, '' Come in," We find ourselves in a room 
12x15 feet. The furniture consists of a bed, a table, a 
few chairs and, between the windows, a work-bench, 
where a man, about fifty, with hair well mixed with 
gray, is repairing a clock. After a few introductory 
words about the hard times in general and the weather 
in particular, the missionary introduces the subject of 
religion by an analogy between the old clock and the 
human body. The mechanic listens, but never stops 
tinkering over his work until we rise to go, when the 
missionary hands him a neat little pamphlet, which he 
refuses, remarking, "That is rot — all rot!*' 

" Rot?" inquires the surprised missionary. 

"Yes; rot. It's founded on your Bible, and that is 
rot." 

" My dear sir, you make an assertion without proof 
Prove that the Bible is rot; for I don't want to handle 
such a book, if it is what you say." 

" I will prove it," replies the man; and, laying down 
his little pincers, and becoming warm with the prospect 
of a debate, he begins with the question : " You claim 
that God is benevolent?" 

"Yes." 

" Now, a few months ago, my wife lay on that bed 
with fever. I prayed God, on my knees, to spare her. 
I prayed many times through the day. I really felt 
he would answer that prayer. She was my only friend 
and companion in all the world. Your God could have 
spared her, for that Book says he is omnipotent and 
hears prayer ; but he took her, and left me alone here 
in this miserable place to shift for myself Is that 
benevolence?" The tears were standing in the old 
man's eyes. 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 27 

"You, my dear friend/' replies the missionary, "are 
looking at one side only of this sad picture. There 
may have been many trials from which God removed 
your dear wife. Perhaps she was not happy here, and 
would receive kinder treatment in heaven, and so He 
took her from you." 

That word went like an arrow to his heart. His 
eyes could not meet the kindly look of the missionary. 
His tone of voice changed and he was visibly affected. 
A new light evidently broke upon him. He confessed 
he had not been as kind to his wife as he ought to 
have been, and he knew she would receive no harsh 
treatment where she had gone; for "she was a good, 
Christian wife and was worthy of a better husband.*' 
He took the proffered tract, shook us by the hand and 
pressed the missionary to come again. The result is 
with God. 

Thus many rooms are visited, each of which would 
afford abundant material for a volume of interesting 
incidents, tales of sorrow and suffering, over which we 
are glad to draw a veil. 

About noon we reach Farringdon market, an 
immense structure covering several squares, where 
thousands of dealers congregate to dispose of their 
goods. This day is selected for visiting, because it 
is not a market day, and the men are at leisure. 
The missionary seems to know everybody, many of 
whom he mentions by name. We are curious to see 
how he will approach these business men. His first 
auditor is a typical butcher, seated upon a hamper, 
taking a pinch of snuff from a silver box, which he 
offers to the missionary, who hands him a copy from 
his now greatly diminished bundle, with the remark, 
"'One good turn deserves another.'" This leads to 
other remarks, from which we infer that this dealer 
has lately taken a stall here. Before he leaves 
him, however, our friend knows some facts as to his 



28 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

spiritual condition; he attends church, but is not a 
communicant. He inquires the name of the church 
and pastor, and afterwards makes a note of it in his 
memorandum. He is next accosted by an inteUigent 
cheesemonger, who carries on an extensive business 
and employs several clerks. He informs us that this 
man was once a member of a church, but is now a 
skeptic and drifting towards atheism. It did not take 
very long for these two, who had evidently often met 
before, to enter upon a discussion. This drew about 
them several clerks and neighboring salesmen, among 
whom are a Swedenborgian and a Universalist. It is 
most pleasing to see with what tact and good temper 
the missionary meets and answers each and all of nis 
opponents, who several times lost the thread of their 
argument in the excitement of the debate. After lis- 
tening patiently to their "pro's" and "con's," he utilizes 
his opportunity by pointing the company to the rea- 
sonableness of Christianity and salvation through the 
Redeemer.- Thus he goes, week after week; devoting 
one day to the market, another to the railroad station 
and another to the tenements, bearing to each the 
same persuasive message of "Jesus and his love." 
And yet this is but a small part of his work. In addi- 
tion to his daily visitation, which occupies thirty hours 
a week, he conducts a Sabbath school, men's Bible 
class, children services, mission hall and open-air serv- 
ices, improvement classes for the young, mothers' 
meetings, singing and swimming classes, band of 
hope and temperance meetings and, we may add, 
his Sabbath-morning addresses, in refutation of infidel 
lecturers, on Clerkenwell Green. 

This is a typical illustration of the daily life of the 
five hundred missionaries stationed over London. 
They make their daily rounds from court to court, 
from house to house, from room to room, from man 
to man, distributing the bread and the water of life 



FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 29 



to the hungry and thirsty souls that crowd the 
London tenements. 

They may be found on the streets at all hours of 
the day and night. They visit every house, read the 
Scriptures, pray with the families, furnish Bibles, dis- 
tribute tracts and interest the people in Sabbath observ- 
ances and public worship. 

Space fails me to depict the night scenes in which 
these men are compelled to mingle in the discharge 
of their duty, or to narrate their special missions 
among the foreign colonies. It is both instructive and 
amusing to accompany one of these heralds through 
*' Germany," in East London, or '' La Petite France," in 
Soho, or the Italians in Leather Lane and Saffron Hill; 
or, what is still more interesting, to attend the yearly 
fete for foreigners, when representations of many 
nations, under the supervision of their missionaries, 
assemble, at the invitation of some London gentleman, 
upon his demesne, where a bountiful repast is spread, 
Gospel addresses delivered and a day of pleasure 
offered to the strangers of many climes. There have 
been gathered upon some such occasions representa- 
tives of thirteen Eastern nations, besides those nation- 
alities of continental Europe. 

When we see the peculiar and varied character of 
the work assigned the missionary, we can understand 
the necessity of so much care in his selection. Each 
candidate's character is carefully scrutinized. Satis- 
factory testimonials are required as to his piety, sound- 
ness in doctrine, ability to teach, judgment and temper. 
His knowledge of Scripture and doctrine is tested by 
an examining board. If he pass satisfactorily, he is 
accepted as a probationer for at least three months 
before he is assigned to a district. Some time during 
his first two years of service, he is required to attend 
two courses of lectures on the evidences and doctrines 
of Christianity, delivered by one of the Secretaries. 



30 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 



He is also expected to give diligence to the study of 
the Word, and such other helps as are necessary. 
Every care is exercised over his spiritual and temporal 
welfare. His salary, while not large, is sufficient for 
his needs, ranging from £^j los. to ^iio, according 
to the size of his family and length of service. A 
physician is also provided for his family. When his 
health is broken down, or prolonged rest is recom- 
mended, he is sent to the society's beautiful seaside 
home, at Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Here, also, the 
missionary and his wife spend their fortnight's summer 
vacation, all their expenses being paid ; and when at 
last, after faithful service, old age compels him to 
retire, ample provision is made for his comfort until 
his course here is finished, and then — 

*' He takes his place among his peers ; 

His peers, and who are they ? 
Members of yon celestial throng 

Whom angel hosts obey. 
There rest thee, Christian warrior, 

Rest from the double strife — 
The battlefield of London 

And the battlefield of fife." 




CHAPTER III. 

WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 

T^HE piercing cry of the newsboy breaks the still- 
-*- ness of the Sabbath-evening air in the quiet 
streets about Gordon square, a refined neighborhood 
in northwest London. '' Another Whitechapel victim ! 
Another Whitechapel victim !" he shouts, in stentorian 
tones, with stereotyped monotony. The flutter of 
excitement at the windows, and the eagerness of the 
inhabitants for the information, show the announcement 
to be of no ordinary tragedy, such as is enacted almost 
every day in the metropolis. 

The news of these horrible crimes, perpetrated in 
rapid succession upon several helpless, friendless and 
fallen women, in the East End of London, sent a thrill 
of horror and indignation throughout the land, and 
turned the attention of the Christian world to these 
miserable victims, who seek to provide for their bod- 
ies at the expense of their souls. What a cancer 
upon the body politic this assassin's knife has laid 
bare ! The pall has been lifted, and there is discovered 
to public gaze acres of charnel houses, filled with 
the living dead. We subjoin an extract of a pathetic 
and realistic picture of the condition of large masses 
of these unfortunates, as given at the time of the 
revolting murders, in an editorial in the Morning Post: 

The veil has been drawn aside that covered up the hideous 
condition in which thousands, tens of thousands, of our fellow- 
creatures hve, in this boasted nineteenth century, and in the 
very heart of the wealthiest, the healthiest, the most civilized 
city in the world. We have all known for many years that 
deplorable misery, gross crime and unspeakable vice — mixed 
and matted together — lie just off the main roads that lead 



32 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

through the industrial quarters of the metropolis. The daily 
sins, the nightly agonies, the hourly sorrows that haunt, and 
poison, and corrupt the ill-fated tenants and sojourners in these 
homes of degradation and disease, have been again and again 
described with more or less truth and force by our popular 
writers ; but it is when some crime or accident, more than 
usually horrible, has given vividness and reality to the pre- 
viously unrealized picture, that we are brought to feel — what our 
keenest powers failed adequately to conceive before — how parts 
of our great capital are honeycombed with cells, hidden from the 
light of day, where men are brutalized, women are demonized, 
and children are brought into the world only to be inoculated 
with corruption, reared in terror and trained in sin, till punish- 
ment and shame overtake them, too, and thrust them down to 
the black depths where their parents lie, already lost, or dead to 
every hope or chance of moral recovery and social rescue. 
Then comes a terrible crime, bringing a revelation that fills every 
soul with horror, and makes us ask why sleeps the thunder, and 
how these things can be ? 

The answer is in the facts disclosed. Take the latest as a 
sample of the rest. A wretched back street is crowded with 
houses of the most miserable class. Nearly all of them are let 
out in lodgings of a single room, or part of a room. The house 
where the murder was committed had no less than six families, 
all toilers for daily bread, some of questionable honesty or 
sobriety, and all, we may be sure, contaminated in greater or 
less degree by the vicious surroundings of their distressful 
home. Loose women have as free run in these abodes as 
rabbits in a warren. There is a continual coming and going. 
Precepts of decency are not observed, the standard of propriety 
is low, the whole moral atmosphere is pestilential. Poverty in 
its direst form haunts some dwellings, ghastly profligacy defiles 
others, and this in street after street, alley after alley, cul de sac 
after cul de sac, garret after garret, and cellar after cellar. 
Amid such gross surroundings, who can be good ? With this 
atrocious miasma continually brooding over them and settling 
down among them, who can rise to anything better ? Morally, 
these people are not only lost ; they are dead and buried. 

Such is the last stage of these wretched women, 
many of whom have come, step by step, from the flash 
and flattery, from silks and satins, in the West End, to 
the blows and curses, to the rags and rookeries, in the 
East End. Nor have they been many years in making 
this migration. Facilis descensus averni is the experi- 
ence and testimony of them all. 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 33 

There is no means of obtaining the exact number 
of prostitutes in London. They have been estimated 
all the way from forty to eighty thousand, repre- 
senting every nationality and different branches of 
society; the great majority, however, being the daugh- 
ters of the poor. To London the '^procuress" entices 
her victims and the seducer lures his prey. Hither the 
unfortunate woman flees, feeling assured of a screen 
from the thoughtless criticisms of friends and hopeful 
of a shelter under the Christian charity of strangers. 
And in this she will not be disappointed, if there is the 
faintest ray of encouragement that she wants to live a 
virtuous life. 

Her erring sisters of bygone years sighed in vain 
for a helping hand; but they were looked upon with 
Pharisaic disdain, and even the penitent's plea was 
regarded with suspicion. The arm of the law was 
stretched forth to deliver them ; but it proved the iron 
grip of death. They were arrested — " more sinned 
against than sinning" — transported, treated as criminals, 
whose punishment was already more than they could 
bear. When at last philanthropy was moved in their 
behalf, it found a cold expression in asylums, where, 
shorn of their hair and arrayed in prison garb, they 
were placed under bolt and bar, with a prayer for their 
reclamation. It is within the memory of many now 
living, when this penitentiary system was the only help 
offered the fallen. All this is now changed under the 
modern impetus of Christian aggressiveness, which 
cannot wait for the sinner's return, but goes out upon 
the highways to bring the lost ones home. 

In 1850, Lieut. Blackmore, R. N., persuaded a few 
wayward women to forsake their lives of sin, and take 
up their abode under the roof of a motherly widow, 
until he could secure them honest employment. This 
led to the establishment of homes, upon the family 
principle, in ordinary dwelling houses, where the 



34 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

regulation garb was discarded for the ordinary dress 
of household servants. From the success of this 
experiment has developed the family system of rescue 
homes to be found in all the large cities of the Chris- 
tian world. Many loving hearts and willing hands 
have come forward to help in this noble cause. In the 
city of London alone, there have been established, 
during the past forty years, no less than forty societies, 
with scores of homes and hundreds of missionaries, 
for the rescue of friendless and fallen women. 

While all these organizations have the same end in 
view, they carry out this end along different lines of 
action, and among different classes of the unfortunates. 
Some, like the Anchorage Mission and the Southwark 
Girls' Rescue Society, direct their energies principally 
to missionary work, persuading the girls to forsake their 
wicked ways, and securing their admission to suitable 
homes. Others, like the Home of Hope and the 
Rescue Society, receive the rescued ones and train 
them for suitable employment. The Temporary Home 
for Friendless Women affords a shelter for those who, 
in a single instance, have strayed from the path of 
virtue. The Magdalen Hospital and Countess Dow- 
ager of Aberdeen Home receive young women who 
have not been long leading a sinful life. While the 
St. James Diocesan Home offers a refuge to female 
penitents of a higher class than those entering most 
asylums. 

There are also homes for deserted mothers with 
their infants, and those about to become mothers. 
There are rescue homes for the fallen, preventive homes 
for the tempted, and protective homes for servants seek- 
ing employment. They are situated in different parts 
of the metropolis, are easily accessible, and are open at 
all hours of the day, and some, such as the shelters, 
are also open at all hours of the night. 

Missionary work among the fallen divides itself 
into two departments — rescue and reformative work. 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 35 

Both branches, however, overlap and dovetail into each 
other. The former occupies itself with the street, and 
the latter with the home work. 

To obtain an adequate idea of rescue work, we 
must visit the streets with a rescue officer. On this 
occasion it is our privilege to accompany the mission- 
ary of the Midnight Meeting Movement on his nightly 
rounds. 

The shops are closed, and the honest tradesmen 
have betaken themselves to sweet repose. There is 
little activity upon the streets. Occasionally there 
falls upon our ears the sound of hastening footsteps, 
or the rattling of a distant cab hurrying a belated 
traveler to his lodgings. And yet the streets are by 
no means deserted, even on this chill November night. 
That class which "love darkness rather than light, 
because their deeds are evil," have taken possession 
of the highways. 

We do not go far before we are accosted by a gaudily 
dressed woman of the demi monde. She soon learns 
our mission and hastens on, refusing alike our invita- 
tion to the meeting and a word of counsel. We are 
more successful with the next one. She is the reverse 
of gay. Her clothing is plain and scanty for this 
wintry chill ; her countenance is strikingly sad, as re- 
vealed under the flickering lamp ; her features, still 
bearing traces of comeliness, are greatly marred by the 
poisonous rouge and the chafing weather to which she 
has been exposed. Her asthmatic cough suggests to 
our companion a cue for conversation. 

"You should not be out in this damp night air," he 
suggests. 

"I wouldn't, if I could live within, sir," is her 
ready reply. 

" Would you accept a comfortable room, if it were 
offered you without pay ? " 

"That I would, sir; but we girls don't find such 
people as gives us such comforts for nothing." 



36 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

'' Surely, this is a most unhappy life ? '\ 

'"Tis, sir; but we must do something for a 
living." 

"But there are other ways of making a living. 
Why not try them?" 

" Ah ! sir ; people don't care much for hiring a girl 
off the streets." 

" But have you no relatives — no friends who would 
help you into a better life?" 

" My father and mother are both dead. Indeed, 
I haven't anyone who cares anything for me." 

"And you would be willing to give up this life?" 

" Oh ! sir ; I would work for bread and water, if I 
could escape from this miserable life I am living." 

" Here, then, is your opportunity," he replies, hand- 
ing her an invitation to the midnight meeting. " Go 
to that address, and you will find food, shelter, cloth- 
ing and friends." 

As we left her, she said : " I will go at once, sir, 
just as I am, if they will only take me in." And, as 
we afterwards learned, she was as good as her word, 
and found all that was promised her. 

We meet another, who gives the following reasons 
for leading such a life: Deception, under the promise 
of marriage. What could she do ? Where could she 
go ? None of her relatives or friends would receive 
her. She came to London ; was taken in charge by a 
woman, and this is the result. She accepts an invita- 
tion, and promises to attend the meeting. 

Thus we go through the fog, looking eagerly into 
the faces of the women. We accost them in singles 
and groups, at some well-lighted corner. Some are 
gaily, others shabbily, dressed ; some attract our atten- 
tion by loud laughter and flippant, vulgar remarks ; 
others, more timid, seek to impress us with a look or a 
motion. At times we are received kindly, and listened 
to patiently; again, the tract is torn up before our eyes, 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 37 



or the group hurriedly scatter while we are speaking. 
We cannot but feel, amid these strange scenes, that, 
beneath this conspicuous veneering of hilarity, there 
lie an aching heart and a yearning desire for deliver- 
ance from their miserable condition. If they would 
but hearken to the counsel of this friend, who has come 
out for the very purpose of rescuing them, before the 
morning dawns they would be safely housed under the 
protection of a mother's care. 

Many of those spoken to have sad tales of injured 
innocence to narrate. The goading thought, that they 
are compelled to suffer the penalty all alone, while 
their deceitful betrayers escape without a scourge, 
often evokes angry tears. 

One's heart bleeds with pity for the victims, and 
burns with indignation against the villains who have 
brought such wretchedness into the hitherto virtuous 
lives of many of these overcredulous young girls. 

We are surprised both at the numbers and the ages 
of those met upon the streets. Among them was a 
child, scarcely in her teens, in company with a callous 
dame of thirty, who was evidently training the neophyte 
to follow in her footsteps. 

We have spoken, during our walk, to many indi- 
viduals, several of whom accepted invitations, and 
promised to attend the meeting. 

Thus, night after night, winter and summer, this 
rescue officer is engaged in just such work. He in- 
forms us that his tracts and invitations are, as a rule, 
gratefully received. Even his visits to the taverns, 
where the women resort, and to the houses v^^here they 
live, are not obstructed. 

A few extracts from the rescue officer's journal will 
show the variety of his work : 

September 12th. — ^Attended meeting held in Craven Hall, 
Regent street; did not go out with invitations, but watched for 
women as they came up to the hall ; some hesitated as they 



38 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

neared ; talked with and persuaded some to go in. A girl, who 
did not look more than fifteen, was in company with a woman 
apparently old enough to be her mother, and should judge from 
the control the woman appeared to exercise over the girl that 
she was training her for a bad life. I endeavored to show 
them how such a life must end. The girl said her mother was 
dead. 

October ijth. — Edgware road and Hyde Park; gave 
fifty-seven cards of invitation to midnight meeting held at the 
Baptist Chapel, Praed street, Paddington. Did not expect to 
meet with many women in the Park on such a wet night, but 
to my surprise found many ; distributed thirty tickets there. 
One woman wept bitterly as she told me of the kindness she had 
formerly received while in a home. Altogether the women were 
very civil. 

Nove7nber i'o//^.— Present at ten P. M. at midnight meeting, 
Sermon lane. Met with a young married woman, who said 
she was a daughter of a Wesleyan minister, her husband living 
on the proceeds of her sin. She went with me to the meeting. 
Said she feared attending the meetings, as her friends might 
discover her mode of hfe. 

It is now past midnight. We must hasten to the 
meeting, where we have invited so many of these un- 
fortunates to go. We find ourselves at King's Cross, 
the great railway terminus. There is one brilliantly 
lighted building in the middle of the dark row of closed 
shops that stretch along on the opposite side of the 
street. From this place there floats out upon our ears 
the music of a familiar Gospel hymn : 

*' Oh ! 'twas love, 'twas wondrous love 
The love of God to me ; 
It brought my Saviour from above 
To die on Calvary." 

A strange time for a prayer meeting! And yet 
that is just what is being held at this early morning 
hour in yonder building. It is the midnight meeting 
for fallen women. A rescue officer, with a woman he 
has persuaded from the streets, enters the building be- 
fore us. We are in a well-lighted, comfortably fur- 
nished, warm room, with the appearance of a restaurant 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS, 39 



at supper time. There are numerous tables, with snow- 
white covers, at which are seated about seventy women, 
who have been invited here from the streets during 
the past few hours, by the personal solicitation of agents 
of the society. They are being served by Christian 
ladies, who try to satisfy their appetites with tea, coffee, 
sandwiches and light refreshments. 

It is a strangely mixed company. Here are those 
whose bruised and bloated faces testify that " the way 
of the transgressor is hard.'' Some are just past the 
meridian of life, whose haggard countenances show too 
plainly that they have grown old before their time. 
Others there are whose features and apparel prove they 
have not long been treading the way of death. The 
dresses of many are untidy, not to say dirty; but each 
one wears some flashy color in ribbons, feathers, or 
cheap jewelry, to attract her prey. 

Here is a congregation who seldom, if ever, attend 
a place of worship, or hear the sound of a minister's 
voice, unless at the reading of the funeral service of 
some unfortunate companion, who has met an untimely 
death and found a pauper's grave. 

The tables being cleared, hymn books are brought 
out, and an elderly lady takes her place at the 
organ. Several of the congregation, with surprisingly 
sweet voices, join heartily in the singing. A prayer 
and Scripture reading follow, when a clergyman of 
the neighborhood delivers a short address, full of plain 
Gospel truth, exhibiting God's love and mercy to the 
fallen, his willingness to receive them into his family, 
and, with a touching reference to Christ's treatment of 
the adulteress, closes with this apt quotation : 

*' He would not have the sullied name, 
Once fondly spoken in a home, 
A mark for strangers' righteous blame, 
Branded through every age to come." 

He is followed by one of the ladies present, who, in 
tones of sweet tenderness, pleads with her " sisters " to 



40 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 



forsake their life of sin for one of holiness. She offers 
them an open door to the homes, where they will be 
trained for honorable and useful service. It is surpris- 
ing how attentive and, on the whole, how well behaved, 
these street girls are. At the close of the meeting an 
invitation is given for any who want further advice to 
remain. Then the ladies and gentlemen engage a 
number of their guests in conversation. 

As a result of that night's meeting, there was one 
persuaded to abandon her life of sin. She left the hall 
in company with a matron, to enter a home. Do you 
regard this as a small harvest from so much sowing ? 
Happily, the workers do not. Remember that Jesus, 
the Master, spent much time to save the soul of one 
woman, '' who was a sinner/' 

This is but one of many such meetings, held at dif- 
ferent times, in various parts of the city. One night a 
meeting is held among the dismal rookeries of the 
squalid East End, and another night in the midst of 
the gilded resorts of the fashionable West End. 

A visit to the Mission Hall, Fubert's Place, Regent 
street, presents a more attractive audience, but of the 
same class as at King's Cross. Here a certain refine- 
ment of manners and delicacy of feeling present them- 
selves. There are many continental foreigners in this 
company, who are addressed in French and German by 
members of the committee. 

We cannot estimate the influence of these midnight 
meetings by immediate results, or by the number of 
rescued ones that are taken each night to the homes. 
The primary object of the movement is to bring these 
outcasts under the power of the Gospel of Him who said : 
'* Neither do I condemn thee ; go, and sin no more." 
The seed, in many cases, may fall on hard, stony and 
thorny places ; but here and there grains find lodgment 
in what proves to be good ground, and often bring 
forth fruit in a virtuous, industrious, Christian life. 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 41 



This rescue work represents but a small fragment 
of the efforts nightly put forth in behalf of fallen women. 
There are scores of rescue workers every night on the 
streets of this vast city, whom you will meet in all the 
haunts frequented by wayward girls. There are 
matronly women, with small bunches of flowers, and 
venerable men with packages of tracts, which they use 
to attract the attention of the girls long enough to en- 
gage them in conversation. In this way hundreds 
every night are pleaded with and are warned of their 
danger. The rescuers endeavor ^to lead them at once 
to the receiving house of the society they represent. If 
they cannot persuade them to forsake this life and 
accompany them, they try to secure their address, and 
visit them the next day. In the quietness of their 
room, by persistent, patient effort, they often accom- 
plish what they failed in amid the excitement of the 
street. 

It is very often found necessary to place these res- 
cued ones in a hospital, where they are regularly visited 
until their shattered* health is restored, when they are 
placed in a suitable home. 

One of these women visitors, who has been in the 
work but six months, informs us that she has rescued 
twenty-eight girls from the streets. One was a highly 
educated French girl, who spoke several languages, 
whom she met in Regent Square, gave her a tract, and 
invited her to the receiving house. She went of her 
own accord, as several others have done, was placed in 
a home and, at last accounts, was doing well. Another 
was the preventive case of a young girl, persuaded to 
come to London by a companion. Upon their separa- 
tion she wandered for several days about the city, 
sleeping in parks and other places, but determined at 
least to be virtuous. When found, she gladly accepted 
the kind offices of the missionary, who secured her a 
situation in a doctor's family, where she has proved 



42 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

herself a faithful servant. Still another was the case of 
a young woman, met on the Strand, whose body even 
then would have been floating in the Thames, had she 
not been ordered from the embankment by a vigilant 
policeman. Two others were of the tender age of thir- 
teen and fourteen years, respectively, who were res- 
cued from most dangerous surroundings, and placed in 
preventive homes. 

Nor are these exceptional cases. Each missionary 
could give similar accounts of mere children of eleven 
and fifteen years, rescued from sin and temptation. 

Before passing from this branch of rescue work, it 
may be well to give a few extracts from the register of 
the Mission House, as illustrative of the tender years 
of some who have been received : 

" E. G., aged sixteen years. She was brought up in a charity 
school in London until thirteen years old, when she was placed 
in service. She was persuaded by a baker to leave her place 
and live with him under a promise of marriage. After keeping 
her three months he made her go on the streets to earn money 
for him. During the three years she was with him she tried 
five times to escape from him, but each time he found her and 
brought her back. At length she took refuge in the Mission 
House, so ill and broken down that she had to be sent to the 
Infirmary for a time. She has been sent to a home in the 
country, but before she went she gave evidence by her life that 
her heart had been changed and that she had been truly con- 
verted to God." 

" S. F., aged eleven and a half years. Brought here by a 
rescue officer, having been ruined by her mother's lodger. 
Remained here a few days ; afterwards sent into the country to 
a training home." 

" E. H., aged twelve and a half years. Was sent here 
through a vigilance society. She was described in the police 
report as a perfect little monster of depravity ; found the girl 
only wanted her energies rightly directed ; kept her three months, 
then placed her in a home at Truro, and have received most 
satisfactory reports of her behavior." 

"A. D., aged fifteen years. Was in service in a farmhouse 
in the country. She was ruined by her master when fourteen 
years of age. She was in this Mission House three months, 
and is now in a clergyman's family, doing well." 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 43 

The reformative work begins where the rescue 
work ends. When the rescue officer has succeeded in 
persuading his charge to forsake her wicked ways, she 
is placed in a suitable reformative home. These are of 
two classes — preventive homes for unfallen girls, res- 
cued from corrupting influences, and restorative homes 
for girls who have strayed from the paths of virtue. 
The number and variety of these homes permit of a 
minute and safe classification, according to the neces- 
sity of the cases presented. 

Let us follow the case of H. A., aged thirteen, who 
has been rescued from dangerous surroundings and 
brought to the receiving house by a rescue officer. He 
reports that her parents have but one room for them- 
selves, two sons and another daughter. During the 
day this girl of weak intellect is left entirely to her- 
self, while the parents go out to work. She was found 
running about the streets of Chelsea with rough boys 
and girls. 

Her case is referred to the London Female Pre- 
ventive and Reformative Institute, whose object is to 
provide for such girls homelike influence and indus- 
trial, moral and religious training; for, in the language 
of the Secretary, "the supreme end sought by the 
committee is the spiritual and eternal welfare of every 
girl brought into the home.'' 

This institution has seven homes ; three for rescue 
cases, two for preventive cases, one protective home 
for unemployed servants, and an open-all-night shelter, 
whose doors are never closed against the returning 
prodigals, weary of their life of sin and shame. 

We accompany the rescue officer, with his charge, 
to the Central Home Offices, 200 Euston road, a com- 
modious dwelling, without even a sign to distinguish it 
from the surrounding private residences. We are re- 
ceived by the venerable Secretary, Mr. Edward W. 
Thomas, who for forty years has been engaged in this 



44 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

work, which he, at an age when most men retire from 
active service, pushes with enthusiasm. He still visits 
the police courts for hopeful cases, enters the houses 
for the detained luggage of rescued women, and care- 
fully scrutinizes the personal columns* of the news- 
papers, to thwart the insidious tempter by warning his 
unsuspecting victim. 

Since the occupancy of these offices, there have 
been directed hither, by policemen, magistrates, mis- 
sionaries and other agencies, more than twenty thou- 
sand friendless and fallen young women, representing 
many nationalities, who have found Christian sympathy 
and help. The following extracts from the registrar's 
journal will show the general character of the appli- 
cants presented: 



*The following extracts from the Standard will show his success in 
dealing with those subtle snares which are advertised as personals : 

PLUE EYES. — If the lady wearing a sealskin tippet, who noticed a 
gentleman who raised his hat to her, while having her skates put on 
at the Round Pond, Kensington Garden, Sunday morning last, will make 
an appointment, addressed to F. C. J., Kelly's Library, Vigo St., W., he 
will be so much obliged. 



DLUE EYES. — The lady referred to in yesterday's Standard is advised 
not to write to F. C. J., Kelly's Library, at present. 



P C. J. is advised that if he wishes to make an appointment with the 

lady designated as above, that he should advertise for the address of 

her father or elder brother, in order to obtain an interview, according to 

the ordinary usages of society. Edward W. Thomas, 200 Euston road. 



p C. J. thanks E. W. Thomas for his wholesome advice, but is of the 

opinion Blue Eyes is quite capable of taking care of herself He 

hopes Blue Eyes will write to him, and that E. W. Thomas will, for the 

future, attend to his Reformatory Institution, and mind his own business. 



PLUE EYES begs to inform F. C. J. that she is not in the habit of 
writing letters to any biped who has a " hat to lift," and she trusts 
that should F. C. J., have the impertinence to lift his hat to any other 
young lady unknown to him, that some male friend of such lady will hft 
his foot, and that to a good purpose. 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 45 

"A., aged twenty-four years. Born at Matlock. Parents 
dead ; a very respectable young woman; left her place, through 
a little misunderstanding, at 10.30 P. M., and came to London 
without considering what a serious step she was taking ; arrived 
at six A. M., was brought by a policeman to the entrance of 
200 Euston road, to see if Mr. Thomas could recommend 
lodging. This was found at a Christian association in Fitzroy 
street, and the girl was subsequently restored to her mistress." 

" B., charged with attempted suicide. In service three and 
a half years ; her mistress will give her a good character. She 
has pawned her clothes, which magistrate promises to redeem 
if Mr. Thomas will keep the girl. She has a baby, which her 
mother takes care of." 

" C, a poor needlewoman. Born in Cheshire. Parents 
brought her to London ten years ago ; used to get their Hving 
by needlework. Both parents died within a month of each 
other, seven years ago. This girl had no proper resources, 
and fell ; been on the streets off and on ever since her 
parents died ; expresses great loathing for the life and desires 
to reform." 

After careful inquiry into the character of the 
several cases presented each day, they are sent to 
homes adapted to their needs. Our own interesting 
charge, H. A., is assigned to the preventive home, at 
Parson's Green. This house will accommodate fifty 
girls. Its sanitary and mechanical appliances are well 
adapted for the health and service of the occupants. 
The basement contains the dining-hall, kitchen, scul- 
lery, lavatories and bath rooms. Upon the ground 
floor are the visitors' reception-room, a commodious 
work room, and school rooms. The chapel is situated 
on the first floor, and the dormitories occupy the 
second and third floors. The furnishing is plain, but 
substantial, more care being given to comfort than 
ornament. The laundry, fitted for family work, is lo- 
cated in the rear of the building, and beyond this is the 
spacious exercise ground. 

As we walk through these cozy rooms and look 
upon these happy faces, whose ruddy cheeks and 
bright countenances bespeak health of body and mind. 



46 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

we think how changed H. A. will find her surround- 
ings. Rescued from blows, curses and dangerous 
temptations, she will be fostered under the loving 
care of one whom she will soon learn to call " mother/' 

Their life in the home is very busy. The rising 
bell rings at six o'clock, when each one is assigned 
her duty until breakfast, after which family wor- 
ship is conducted by the matron. Luncheon is served 
at noon. From eight A. M. until seven P. M.,the home 
is as busy as a bee-hive. Every inmate is engaged at 
some branch of industry. Some, with brooms and 
brushes, are bustling with the housework ; others, with 
needle and thread, are busy in the workshop ; while 
the older girls are washing and ironing in the laundry, 
where, in the absence of cumbrous machinery, which 
unfits girls for domestic service, all the work is done 
by hand. Time is allowed at five P. M. for dinner. 
Supper is served at nine P. M. The meals are plain 
and wholesome. Between seven and half-past eight 
P. M., the time is devoted to self-improvement — 
reading, writing and social intercourse. Elementary 
instruction is given in the principles of social economy, 
the laws of health, in moral duties and the relative 
duties of life. The aim being, first, to impart to each 
inmate a knowledge of the way of salvation, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ ; and, secondly, to train them 
to become sensible and efficient household servants. 
Such is the daily week-day routine of each home. 

The Sabbath presents a cheering variety, and is 
joyfully anticipated by all. It practically begins on 
Saturday. The work is finished by tea-time, after 
which the household, neatly attired, assemble for Bible 
study, which is conducted by a Christian lady. On 
the Lord's Day, services are held in the domestic 
chapel at eleven A. M. and half-past six P.M., when the 
entire family, including many of the former inmates 
(now servants in the neighborhood), assemble for 



WITH RESCUE WORKERS. 47 



worship. There are held, during the year, three thou- 
sand religious services in these several homes. 

It is surprising with how little friction all this 
machinery is made to run ; and yet we must not 
imagine that all the inmates are model penitents. Each 
individual case presents material for careful study. 
Much patience and forbearance are required. The 
reckless life and wild freedom of former days must be 
restrained by kind but firm authority. Here is one 
who, in a pique, threatens to leave the home, although 
there is no force other than love to restrain her; here 
is another, whose bad temper has got her into trouble 
with a companion ; and still another, in a passion over 
a mere trifle. All these little " white-caps," witnessed 
upon the surface of the best-regulated families, are to 
be seen here. 

There is one happy gathering we must witness, 
before we take our departure from these " rescue 
workers." We refer to the annual reunion of former 
inmates of the institution at the Central Home. The 
spacious dining-room, tastefully decorated, is filled 
with a happy-hearted company, seated at long tables, 
where they are enjoying a special tea. Every one of 
these well-dressed, respectable women has been an in- 
mate of these homes. This family gathering affords 
them an opportunity of relating their experiences since 
leaving the institution, and gives the guardians the 
privilege of showing continued interest after they leave 
their sheltering care. Supper being over, we adjourn 
to the chapel, where devotional exercises are held, and 
a few brief, practical talks are given by members of the 
committee. Then follows the most interesting part of 
the evening's enjoyment — the distribution of beautifully 
bound books, carefully selected, as rewards for faith- 
fulness in service during the year. This distribution 
elicited the fact that three hundred young women who 
received the rewards have been in service from one to 
fifteen years. 



48 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 



At such a gathering, the skeptical question, " Does 
it pay ? " is answered with irrefutable emphasis. Does 
it pay! Let the contrast of their present with their 
past condition answer. A few years ago, these very • 
women were the outcasts of society, steeped in sin, 
body and soul ! Now they are trusted servants in the 
best families. Their lives are virtuous ; *' their fruit is 
holiness," and their end, we trust, ''everlasting life.'* 
Surely the matron's pride is pardonable, when, with 
beaming countenance, she introduces to us a group of 
prize-winners as *'my girls." Nor is this the only 
occasion when the practical efficiency of the home 
training is seen. It is shown in the letters of gratitude, 
the monthly visits, and the yearly contributions that 
are made to the homes. Here is an extract from a 
letter lately received from Queensland by one of the 
matrons : 

*'Dear Mrs. , I am afraid you will think I 

have forgotten you, but I have been waiting to let you know 
all the good news. You will see when you have read this 
letter, that your words have come quite true. I was married 
on the fifth of December, from the house where I went to on 
landing — my first and last situation. My mistress found every- 
thing for my wedding, and I was married from the house. I 
have got your photo hanging in my best room, therefore I often 
think of you." 

Upon the same day, the Secretary found in his 
mail two contributions — a matter of frequent occur- 
rence — one of ten shillings and one of five shillings, 
from former inmates. Such rays of sunshine dispel 
despondency, offset the failures, and encourage these 
workers to continue, with renewed vigor, " to seek and 
to save the lost." 



CHAPTER IV. 
OPEN-AIR PREACHING. 

TPHE Sabbath scenes on some of London's streets, 
^ furnish a painful picture of desecration to the 
pious visitor wending his way to the sanctuary. One 
might travel over the world and not find a more 
striking antithesis, between piety and profanity, than 
in this modern Babylon. We had read that its Sunday 
trading surpassed Moslem Cairo, worldly Paris or 
Papal Rome ; but, regarding the comparison more as 
a rhetorical figure than a statement of facts, we were 
not prepared for the Sabbath desecration witnessed in 
many parts of the metropolis. 

We find ourselves in the throng, moving leisurely 
along Commercial road. Many shops are open and 
are evidently doing a thriving business. The ubiqui- 
tous newsboy, darting hither and thither among the 
surging crowd and moving vehicles, rapidly disposes 
of his bundle of papers. The jingle of the tram-car 
bells and the rumble of the heavy 'busses, add to the 
discord of the noisy highway. As we cross Middle- 
sex street, our attention is attracted by a bewildering 
scene. What is the excitement ? Is it a fair, or a fight, 
or a market ? Have we lost a day in our reckoning 
and mistaken Saturday for Sunday ? No ! See the 
worshipers with prayer and hymn-books, hastening 
along in answer to the call of the church bells. We 
turn aside to inquire the cause of this confusion ; and 
are informed that it is one of the famous Sunday 
markets among the low-lived Londoners. A scene of 
boisterous activity is presented on every hand. A 
motley company of men, women and children, whose 



50 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

unwashed faces and unkempt hair reveal a painful 
economy in soap and water, jostle along the na^rrow 
street. Both sides are lined with low, dingy shops, in 
front of which, piled upon tables, boxes and barrels, 
are the dealers' stocks in trade; all their business being 
transacted upon the almost impassable sidewalk. The 
dealers are distributing bread, meat and vegetables, the 
refuse of Saturday's market, to the hungry customers 
purchasing their Sunday dinner. Little children, with 
bare heads and feet, and greasy, tattered garments, 
dart so dextrously among the stands that the lynx- 
eyed merchant cannot always watch their pilfering 
fingers. Men, with faces deeply impressed with last 
night's debauch, gaze curiously upon the articles, 
innumerable and indescribable, that lie scattered in 
promiscuous profusion in front of the booths. Here 
you can purchase articles for personal or domestic use, 
offered at tempting prices — if you are not fastidious as 
to style and fit. No one need leave this place with 
wants unsupplied, if cheapness of material, variety of 
stock and solicitation of importunate dealers, be the 
only requirements to induce purchases. 

Are you hungry ? Here are provisions that ought 
to satisfy an epicurean palate — meat pies, pickled fish, 
baked potatoes and other unanalyzed substances to 
appease the most voracious appetite. Are you thirsty ? 
Hearken to yon philanthropist, whose lusty voice 
proclaims his presence there solely in the interest of his 
fellow-men. For a single penny he will mix you a 
decoction from his temperance bitters, which he guar- 
antees to possess all the power and flavor of spirits, 
without their intoxicating ingredients. Are you 
charitably disposed ? Near by is a blind beggar, sing- 
ing to a group as poor as himself He has learned 
from experience that there are more " ha' pennies " 
among these sympathetic fellows than among the more 
prosperous crowds on the main thoroughfare. 



OPEN-AIR PREACHING. 51 

As we pass down the street, the crowd becomes 
larger and the competition grows more intense. The 
dealers amuse the people by reciprocal sallies of 
criticism against each other, calling at the same time 
upon the tardy buyer to render a verdict on the 
respective merits of their wares. This bartering and 
bantering, and laughing and chaffing turn the auction 
into a veritable Babel. 

Nor is this an exceptional scene in the great city. 
There are several such markets even more animated 
than this. The incredulous reader may prove this 
statement any Sabbath by a walk through the " Bird 
Fair " in Sclater street, in the neighborhood of Shore- 
ditch, where " fanciers '' offer for sale pigeons and 
poultry of all varieties to thousands of curious 
customers. 

The markets at Whitecross street, Leather lane 
and the New Cut, and the *' fairs," where the Jews 
dispose of their artistically displayed stock of second- 
hand clothing, are all counterparts of the one we have 
described. From time immemorial, these market 
scenes have been enacted every Lord*s day under the 
very eyes of the civic authorities, who, threatening their 
abolition, still connive at their weekly repetition. In- 
deed, it is questionable if the democratic spirit of the 
times would quietly submit to the summary suppres- 
sion of this time-honored Sabbath-morning recreation. 

While the slender congregations in many of the 
churches and chapels evoke a sigh from the minister, 
as he looks over the empty pews, there are gathered 
at these markets, in different parts of the city, more 
people than these same churches could accommodate. 
Sabbath after Sabbath, about the time of morning wor- 
ship, these thousands of poor people come forth into 
the market-places to enjoy a few pleasant hours — the 
weekly variety in their monotonous lives. They have 
been invited over and over again to come to the 



52 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

chapels and mission halls, but they cannot dress for 
the occasion, nor, if they did venture in, could they sit 
still long enough to endure the strain of a sermon. 
They feel that any service which shuts out the air and 
sunshine, with high walls, impenetrable roof and 
narrow pews is somehow in league with the despot- 
ism that crowds them in close rooms and stifling tene- 
ments. Moreover they claim that the Sabbath is the 
only day they can leisurely breathe the fresh air, and, 
with a feeling of independence, they go where they 
can enjoy that privilege. 

And yet these unchurched masses are not entirely 
neglected. There are many zealous servants of Christ, 
who care sufficiently for their souls to carry the Gospel 
to them. For a practical illustration, let us return to 
the ''Rag Fair'' in Middlesex street. As we pass 
through this pandemonium, we hear rising above its 
noise and confusion, the words of a well-known hymn 
— " Come, weary souls by sin oppressed.'' At the 
corner of Whitecross street, we happen upon a com- 
pany surrounding a portable pulpit, from which a 
young man is leading the singing. From the inscrip- 
tion upon the red ribbon in their Bibles, we learn that 
they are members of the Open- Air Mission. This is 
our first introduction to the open-air preacher, who 
has become such a conspicuous figure on London 
streets. Many of the people, evidently accustomed to 
this gathering, pay no heed to it ; while others leave 
the crowded stalls and make their way to the service, 
which soon gathers about a hundred men, women and 
children around the little pulpit. After the singing of 
several familiar hymns, which are printed on slips and 
distributed among the audience, a brief portion ot 
Scripture is read and a short prayer is offered, when 
the leader in a clear voice and plain, direct speech, 
gives a fifteen minutes exposition of the Gospel con- 
tained in the liii. chapter of Isaiah. He dwells upon 



OPEN-AIR {PREACHING. 53 

the love of God, the humility of Jesus and the free 
salvation offered to all that believe on Him. He is 
followed by other members of the brotherhood in 
short exhortations and testimonies, and a prayer and 
hymn conclude the exercises. 

It was a service never to be forgotten — not from the 
impressiveness of the ritual, nor from the size of the 
audience, nor from the eloquence of the discourses, but 
from the uniqueness of the scene, from the personnel of 
the hearers and the interest manifested by the congre- 
gation, gathered beneath the bright, blue sky. Men 
in shirt sleeves, smoking their pipes ; women in bare 
heads, with marketing in their hands, or babies in their 
arms ; auditors at the neighboring windows and in the 
doorways; a costermonger seated on his barrow- 
handle ; a peddler with his pack ; a policeman on the 
corner — all listening attentively to the " Wonderful 
words of life "; while the quiet demeanor of these 
rough people at the service, presented a striking con- 
trast to the disorder around the traffic, a short distance 
up the street. 

This simple service represents hundreds of similar 
meetings that are held at the same hour every Sabbath 
throughout the city. In the narrow streets, ramifying 
off the main thoroughfares, packed with souls who 
never cross the threshold of a church door, these 
open-air preachers gather congregations larger than 
the more respectable ones assembled in the comforta- 
ble churches and chapels, and they reach a people 
who otherwise would never have the claims of Christ 
presented to them. 

The congregation dispersed, we wend our way 
through the maze of shops and booths and busy 
traffic, until we emerge into Mile End road. Here 
the air is purer and fresher, and free from the din 
of babbling hucksters, whom we have left behind. The 
pedestrians are mostly men whose plain, every-day 



54 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

clothes mark them as of the industrial classes. They 
have come out from the stifling atmosphere of murky 
courts and narrow rooms, to enjoy a walk in the cheer- 
ful sunshine before arranging their Sunday toilet. A 
constant stream of humanity moves along the street. 
Whither do they go? To the churches? The bells 
have ceased an hour ago. 

We drift along with the current, until the ground 
known as Mile End Waste is reached. Here are 
collected several groups of workingmen, discussing 
sociological, political and theological questions. Upon 
the countenances of some is stamped an expression of 
thoughtful intelligence ; upon others, a look of coarse 
brutality. One group is being harangued by a Social- 
ist, who denounces all the " West Enders as a pack of 
thieves." A temperance advocate, a few yards off 
urges upon his hearers the benefits, both physical and 
economical, of total abstinence, proving his arguments 
by vivid illustrations from his own experience. Near 
by, an infidel engages a group with skeptical quibbles; 
while in close proximity a member of the Open- Air 
Mission preaches the Gospel to a fourth company. 
This characteristic scene is no novelty upon the streets 
of London. The same may be witnessed at many 
open spaces in the city — at Clerkenwell Green, or 
in Hyde Park, or at the Midland Railway arches. 
The discussions are especially animated. Thither 
that multitude of the industrial classes, which can- 
not be induced to enter a church, wend their way as 
regularly as the Sabbath dawns. They have no pur- 
pose in view. They are " killing time." Their atten- 
tion is arrested by the simplest incident; their ears are 
open to any voice ; their minds are receptive of any 
impression. The sower of tares, recognizing this, places 
his emissaries at every opportune place, to sow his 
blasphemous doctrines, which would fall as unanswera- 
ble arguments upon the unthinking minds, if the faithful 



OPEN-AIR PREACHING, 55 



evangelists were not present to refute error and state the 
truth in all simplicity. 

The London Secular Society advertises fifteen 
lectures, to be delivered on this particular Sabbath, on 
the open spaces of the city. But each of these speakers 
will be met by the city missionary, the open air preacher, 
the agent of the Christian Evidence Society, and other 
evangelists, who will lay bare their vain platitudes and 
expose their fallacious sophistries to their credulous 
hearers. 

The characteristic assemblage upon Mile End 
Waste may be taken as an example of all the gather- 
ings. Here, one of these deputed secularists, a sparely 
built man of thirty-five years, is addressing about a 
hundred men. The substance of his speech is a blas- 
phemous tirade against Christianity. He informs his 
patient audience that the preachers are humbugs, the 
church is a monopoly, the Bible a myth, and that 
Christ is a fiction. He grows terribly excited ; he 
foams, he rages, he thumps his stand with impressive 
vehemence, as he quotes, in support of his accusations, 
many passages from Hume, Gibbon and Voltaire. At 
the close of his remarks, he challenges any of his 
auditors to take the stand and refute his arguments. 
His request is at once complied with, by a plain but 
neatly dressed man of middle age, who introduces him- 
self as one who '' had tried to satisfy himself on such 
husks as the speaker had been supplying so generously, 
but his starved soul drove him to seek something more 
substantial and satisfying." He now believed the Bible, 
and professed to be a Christian. He felt it his duty to 
accept the invitation to answer some of the points aimed 
at Christianity, although five minutes was a short time 
allowed to answer a half-hour speech. He proved, 
however, to have ample time ; for he certainly did 
expose, to the evident delight of his auditors, his oppo- 
nent's ignorance, both of history and of Scripture, and 



56 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

closed by putting to him a few pointed questions, which 
were not very satisfactorily answered. 

We attach ourselves to another group near by, 
addressed by a member of the Open- Air Mission. A 
fiery old skeptic is persistently interrupting him with 
questions on biblical casuistry. The preacher's 
familiarity with the Scriptures, and the dexterity with 
which he turns up the passages that contradict his 
antagonist, win the hearty applause of the crowd, whose 
mechanical minds appreciate a teacher w^ho can handle 
his tools, even if they will not follow his counsel. 

When silence is secured, the preacher introduces 
himself as a workingman like themselves ; a Christian 
layman, who comes out there without salary or reward, 
to tell his fellows what a friend Christianity is to him. 
And this he does, with an earnestness that reveals his 
deep feeling for the souls of his fellow-men. The con- 
gregations in the neighboring churches will listen to a 
more rhetorical sermon ; but none of them will hear the 
Gospel put in more terse, sympathetic language, than 
is presented by this herald to the rough gath- 
ering of workingmen on Mile End Waste. 

Another striking exhibition of the evangelistic 
spirit is seen in the humble effort of an open-air worker 
to, show the sympathy of the Bible with the poor and 
the working-classes. He has no pulpit, he sings no 
hymn, he makes no address ; but, hand to hand, face 
to face, with open Bible, he reads verses and answers 
questions for the half dozen men gathered about him. 
Such are the scenes enacted upon the streets during 
the hours of the sanctuary service, and under the very 
shadow of the churches, which have just dismissed 
their well-dressed congregations. 

With the closing of the churches, the doors of the 
public houses are opened, and soon find thirsty cus- 
tomers, who eagerly take advantage of the few hours 
given them for indulgence, before returning to their 
rooms to sleep the afternoon away. 



OP EN' AIR PREACHING. 57 

In the evening the streets present a sad but bril- 
liant scene. The nightly throng is augmented by many 
women. The numerous public houses, with dazzling 
illumination, invite the multitude at every turn, and 
find no lack of willing customers. Wherever we go, 
we see these resorts doing a thriving business among 
both men and women. This is alike true of the gin- 
palaces under the tower of Westminster, at the saloons, 
at the '* Elephant and Castle," and of the low grog- 
geries in the Seven Dials. The constant migration in 
and out of these springs of evil, indicates short but fre- 
quent visits. The influence, however, is soon notice- 
able in the rude behavior of many of the pedestrians, 
young and old, male and female, pushing boisterously 
along the crowded thoroughfares. With such scenes 
before us, we need not inquire : "Where are the masses 
on a Sabbath evening ?" They are evidently not in the 
churches. They are not in their uncomfortable homes. 
They are upon the streets of London ! Here, also, is 
the '' open-air preacher,'* in season and out of season, 
sowing the good seed in varied soil. He takes his 
stand at the meeting of the roads, places his pulpit 
near the sidewalk, lights his lamp, if it be dark, gathers 
his helpers close around the little harmonium, and 
opens his service with a familiar hymn. Out of the 
constant stream of thoughtless pedestrians, one and 
another stop to listen to the attractive singing. By 
the time they have sung a few hymns, there is a good 
congregation gathered. At the conclusion of the brief 
service in the open air, the hearers are invited to follow 
the procession, singing as they go, to a neighboring 
hall or chapel, where the service is continued. 

There are few places in London where the people 
congregate (and that means everywhere) which have 
not open-air service. We noticed, in the short distance 
from Euston Square to King's Cross, no less than 
five such Sabbath-evening services at the same hour. 



58 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

These included a corps of the Salvation Army, an agent 
of the Christian Evidence Society, the pastor and his 
helpers from Somer's Town Presbyterian Church, the 
city missionary, and the preacher of the Open-Air 
Mission, all with groups of interested hearers. 

Many devices are used at these services to attract 
the attention of the passer-by^-the band and banners 
of the Salvationists, the harmonium and distribution of 
hymn-sheets; chorus choirs; the exhibition of a pict- 
ure or diagram ; a large banner (bearing the name of 
a church, the hours of service, and an invitation to 
worship) ; or the duplex lamp, for illumination at 
night. All these are used, with more or less success ; 
the object being, first, to arrest attention, and then 
to hold it by an earnest, interesting Gospel address. 

Not only are the main streets and the crowded cen- 
tres supplied with the Gospel, but even in the lanes 
and alleys of the city, the Word is preached in the open 
air. A chair, a box or a curbstone, serves as a pulpit, 
the inhabitants gathering at the windows and on the 
doorsteps, to listen to the speaker proclaiming his 
message in a ringing voice that is heard at the upper 
end of the court. He is heedless alike of the inter- 
ruptions of squalling children, jabbering women, bark- 
ing dogs, or the inarticulate mutterings of a drunken 
skeptic. Some of the city missionaries, in this way, 
bring the Gospel to every home in their district. 

From the steps of the Royal Exchange to the 
farthest boundary of the city, at the base of the monu- 
ments, in the squares and on the greens, the Word is 
preached to congregations numbering all the way from 
fifty to fifteen hundred and two thousand people. And 
yet, with all these faithful efforts, there is abundant 
room for more open-air speakers, among the two mill- 
ion who never enter a place of worship. 

It is remarkable how ready these rough crowds are 
to listen, and how few interruptions the speaker meets. 



OPEN-AIR PREACHING. 59 

He has the sympathy of the police, who often inter- 
fere with the noisy demonstrations of an intoxicated 
auditor. Seldom does he meet with violent opposition. 
It was not, however, always thus. Many a speaker, 
before he became thoroughly acquainted with his 
parish, has been compelled to endure '' hardness as a 
good soldier." More than once he has been forced to 
prove his right to occupy the post, by his boldness in 
withstanding the enemy. 

Open-air preaching, from ''ye olden time," has been 
a means of evangelism in London. Open-air pulpits 
at St. Paul's Cross and Spital Cross, were the scenes of 
most impressive gatherings, attracted to hear the 
eloquent discourses of the highest dignitaries of the 
church. Field-preaching proved a powerful weapon 
for the tearing down of Satan's strongholds in the days 
of Wesley's experiences on the streets, and White- 
field's successes among the godless gatherings at 
Moorfields ; and many zealous disciples, in more 
modern times, have followed in the footsteps of these 
earnest evangelists, and have " gone out into the high- 
ways and hedges," proclaiming the Master's invitation 
to the Gospel feast. 

It v/as not until the year 1853, however, that steps 
were taken to associate the preachers for mutual help 
and encouragement. In June of that year, three open- 
air preachers met and organized the Open-Air Mis- 
sion, *' to encourage, regulate and improve open-air 
preaching." The society now numbers over one 
thousand members, principally '' laymen, whose lives 
and doctrines are believed to be in harmony with 
the word of God, and who are willing to labor in 
making known the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their 
fellow-creatures congregated in the open air." The 
membership represents active Christian evangelists 
in all ranks of life. The names of the titled aristoc- 
racy and the humble costermongers appear on the 



60 THE EVANGELIZATION OE A GREAT CITY, 

same page of the roll-book. Some of the most influ- 
ential citizens of London are proud to wear the red- 
ribbon badge with " The Open-Air Mission " conspicu- 
ously stamped upon it. Members of the House of 
Commons, representatives of the learned professions, 
merchants, mechanics and navvies, are among its sup- 
porters. Archbishop Tait, in the early history of the 
movement, accompanied the Secretary of the society 
to Covent Garden market, where, arrayed in his robe, 
he addressed an assemblage in the open air. The Rev. 
J. Gleig, the Chaplain-General, did likewise; and, 
since that time, many leading clergymen, of all denomi- 
nations, have encouraged the work by their voices in 
the open air. 

A number of the members of the society, living in 
the same district, form a local auxiliary. They hold a 
weekly training class,* under an experienced leader, 
who criticises their ten-minute extempore addresses, 
and gives them a Bible drill. The members have also the 
benefit of the society's library, lectures, addresses and 
publications. But their best school is the practical 
training upon the streets, where the skeptical critic, by 
his quibbles, stimulates the speaker's wit and calls 
forth all his resources. At first, the young preacher 
is often nonplussed ; but experience teaches him the 
stereotyped objections offered by his antagonist, and 
he is soon prepared to sustain his cause. 

In addition to the thousand and more volunteer 
workers, the society employs eleven special paid 
agents, who devote their entire time to the visitation 
of shows, sports, regattas, matches, and all exhibitions 
that attract the people out of doors. They are out in 
all kinds of weather, meeting with varied receptions, 
as they present the Gospel, by tract and testimony, to 
the assembled crowds. 

*Such as that which meets in Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle every 
Saturday night. 



OPEN-AIR FRMACmJStC. 61 

Perhaps the best opportunity for observing the 
profane and godless multitudes, presents itself at the 
annual races held in the vicinity of London. Those 
on Epsom Downs may be taken as an illustration of 
all the rest. A glance at the personnel of the gather- 
ing will reveal the difficult task undertaken by the 
open-air preachers who attack this stronghold of the 
devil. The following extract from the Daily News^ 
describes the disgraceful scenes on the race-course the 
Sabbath before the Derby. What a pandemonium 
must be presented on week-days, when the excitement 
of running horses and betting men and women are 
added to the scene ! 

" The day is wearing on. Carts and caravans, donkey bar- 
rows and pedestrians, vehicles of respectable appearance laden 
with pleasure-takers, have all been steadily creeping up the 

slopes of the great, swelling Downs The crowd of 

holiday-seekers has greatly increased, and the shows have com- 
menced business. The swing-boats are going more furiously. 
The two steam roundabouts have taken down their canvas, and 
their glittering array of brazen-mouthed trumpets are bellowing 
furiously within a few rods of each other. The professional 
boxers are inviting spirited young men to step in and have a 
turn with them, and their booths are fast thronging. Two rival 
showmen are roaring themselves hoarse at the entrance to their 
shows, in the attempt to get patrons for their human curiosities 

within It is impossible even to indicate in print 

the vile suggestions by which these unwholesome rogues are 
successfully inveigling apparently all the lads, who have a penny 
in their pockets, into their exhibitions." 

Among such strange scenes as these, the open- 
air preachers conduct their services. The choir soon 
attracts an audience from the booths and shops to a 
place near the grand-stand, where the Gospel is 
preached to a strangely mixed congregation of gypsies, 
jockies and other idlers. During the four days of the 
races, the preachers' time is fully occupied. They hold 
many services and preach many sermons to the tens 
of thousands who frequent these godless gatherings. 



62 THk EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

Little or no opposition is offered to them. The pro- 
fane multitude recognizes the preachers' right to a 
stand, as well as those engaged in other business. 
Indeed, open-air preaching has become such an 
established institution at these exhibitions, that its 
absence would detract from the reality of the scene. 
Opposition, however, does occasionally present itself, 
not from the boisterous sinners, but from some pro- 
fessing church member, whose sense of propriety is 
shocked at Christianity stooping to such undignified 
service ! The only answer to such carping criticism is 
the results that have followed the self-denying efforts 
of these heralds of the cross. The two following 
cases, which came under the eye of a city missionary, 
illustrate the direct result of this work: 

" Both men lived in his district, and he often met them in 
religious meetings. One was a most respectable coachman, 
who often testified that he owed his salvation to the zeal of an 
evangelist on the race-course. He had gone to see the Derby. 
A man handed him a tract, which he thrust carelessly into his 
pocket. A few days afterwards, he accidentally found it. Its 
perusal led him to think. He had no rest thereafter, until he 
sought and found pardon in Christ. The other is a porter in a 
West End club. One day, at the races, he saw a man holding 
aloft the Scripture text, painted on a board : * What shall it 
profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?' 
That sentence branded itself upon his heart. The startling 
question stared him in the face for days. It did not cease tor- 
turing him until he fled for refuge and found peace in Jesus." 

So, likewise, has the good seed that has fallen into 
the hearts of the '' wayside hear.ers," in the streets, 
lanes, courts, alleys, squares and parks, brought forth 
an encouraging harvest. It is manifest in the awaken- 
ing of the careless, the altered lives of the wicked, the 
additions to the churches, and the testimonies of the 
saved. Some remarkable conversions have come under 
the eye of the Secretary — of persons arrested by a word 
or a sentence, as they paused on the street corner to 
hear what the preacher had to say. Among these are 



OPEN-AIR PREACHING. 63 

"a backslider restored," ''a scoffer convicted," "a 
gambler awakened," " a suicide prevented," " a drunk- 
ard converted," " an aged husband and wife saved." 
These represent some of the fruit gathered by those 
who sow beside all waters. 

Whilst many are asking : " How shall we reach the 
masses?" these aggressive evangelists are answering 
that important question, by reaching them. If they 
cannot bring the masses to the churches, they will 
bring the churches to the masses, as shown by a few 
extracts from the summary of operations, stated in the 
society's annual report : 

Members of the Mission (after revision) 1,064 

Preaching Stations 649 

Towns and villages to which preachers were sent . 453 

Special missions and services conducted 1,604 

Tracts, cards and books distributed 1,005,597 

Estimated number of hearers at open-air meetings 

held by the members 3,000,000 

Income for year ^1,858 

But the result of this aggressive effort of the Open- 
Air Mission cannot be tabulated in figures. The 
complete report cannot be rendered until the books 
are opened at the Great Assize. Then many shall rise 
up and call its members blessed, testifying that the 
"arrow shot at a venture" entered between the 
** joints of the harness " of indifference, and rankled in 
their hearts, until the wound was healed by the balm 
of the Great Physician. 



->^^Mf^^ 



CHAPTER V. 
POPULAR RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 

'T^HE Special -Service Mission seeks to reach the 
^ non-church-going class by means of religious 
meetings in theatres, halls and other popular pleasure 
resorts, that attract the people during six days of the 
week. The necessity for such services is found in 
the fact that there are large numbers of the artisan 
classes who never attend a place of worship. 

This apathy is due, not to any hostility to religion, 
but to what is vaguely termed " church pride " — 
although the pride is more in the absentees than in the 
congregations, as elicited by the vain excuses offered 
for not attending church. 

They say they cannot afford to clothe their families 
sufficiently respectable to appear among the well- 
dressed congregations ; they are unable to contribute 
to the support of the ordinances ; and a sense of 
uneasiness, arising from a feeling of intrusion, harasses 
them at church. Or, as expressed by a speaker at a 
convention of workingmen in London, "they stay away 
because, when they attempted to go, they were made 
to feel like intruders ; they were compelled to wait a 
long time before a seat was offered them, and when it 
was they found they were behind a pillar, or in an 
obscure corner, or in a pew conspicuously marked 
' free seats for the poor.' " " Where will you go, my 
man ?" asked the preacher at a theatre service, ** when 
this place is closed ?" " Where can I go ?" was the 
ready reply, pointing to his ragged, greasy clothes. 
*' Besides, they won't care to see me at church ; I smell 
too strong. Red-cushioned seats were never meant 
for such as me." 



POPULAR RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 65 

Whether these excuses justify their absence or not, 
the fact remains that a large number of wage-earners 
do not attend public worship. The necessity, how- 
ever, is not increased accommodation, but an aroused 
inclination towards the church service ; for there is 
room enough and to spare in all the churches and 
chapels, as shown by a writer in the London Times a 
few years ago : 

" There are the new churches, there are the clergy, no doubt 
carefully selected ; there are, in many cases, the daily services ; 
the choirs, the organs, the decorations, the painted windows, 
the bells daily and often rung, the announcements and invita- 
tions hung up outside, or industriously circulated ; there are the 
doles, the half crowns and the tickets ; nor is there alleged any 
lack of zeal in the clergy. But there are often no congregations 
in the honest and true sense of the word. The laborious and 
costly scheme has failed, at least in many quarters." 

And the Church Times ^ about the same date, sub- 
stantiated the above by the following particular state- 
ments : 

" In the parish of Bethnal Green, containing a population 
equal to that of the town of Portsmouth, on a recent Sunday 
morning, it was found by actual count that in fifteen churches 
of the establishment, with sittings for 14,478, only 905 were 
present." 

What is true of the past is true also of the present 
decade, and of the Non-Conformist as well as the 
established church, as shown by the " Religious Census 
of London," taken recently under the direction of the 
editor of the British Weekly, 

The object of the Special-Service Mission is to 
remedy this evil — to bring the ''lapsed masses" under 
the influence of the Gospel, by attracting them into non- 
ecclesiastical buildings, engaged for religious service 
during the winter Sabbath evenings. So interested 
have the working people become in these services, that 
considerable anxiety is manifest, if the meetings are 
delayed later in the fall than usual, lest they should be 



66 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

abandoned. As soon as the public announcement is 
made, the news is heralded throughout the neighbor- 
hood; the meetings are thoroughly advertised by- 
placards, housebills and personal invitation, strong 
emphasis being laid upon the fact that *' the poorest 
are most welcome." Consequently a " full house " 
greets the speaker on the '' opening night.'' 

We take our stand at the entrance of the Pavilion 
Theatre, Whitechapel, and watch the stream of men 
and women pouring into the building at the first serv- 
ice. They are evidently the very class for whom the 
services have been inaugurated. Their hands and 
faces bear the marks of the sons of toil. There are 
some tradesmen and mechanics; but the majority seem 
to be navvies, dressed in their every-day garb. A 
dust-begrimed coal porter stands gazing curiously at 
the crowd pressing into the building and reveals, by a 
shake of the head, his incredulity of the sincerity of 
the invitation offered him to enter. Seeing, however, 
a man enter without coat or waistcoat, he summons 
courage to follow him. An old woman with a shawl 
over her head is requested to enter, but sadly informs 
the doorkeeper that she has no money. When told 
she can have free admission she gladly avails herself 
of the privilege. 

''Don't admit that fellow!" shouts a policeman, 
pointing to a rough-looking man in the crowd press- 
ing in. " He is the most dangerous character in this 
district ; he'll give trouble in there, and it will take 
four of us to carry him to jail." He was, however, 
admitted and, as we afterward learned, did not give the 
least trouble. 

Upon entering the theatre, a most impressive scene 
is presented. Upon the stage are seated members of 
the committee and several influential citizens. Every 
seat from pit to dome is occupied. Many are stand- 
ing around the walls and in the aisles. Such a 



POPULAR RELIGIOUS SERVICES, 67 

heterogeneous concourse of people could not be 
gathered for a religious service, save in such a place. 

We are the more impressed with this magnificent 
sight when informed that few, if any, of the vast con- 
gregation could have been induced to enter a church 
door, and that many have not befen inside of a church 
for ten, fifteen or twenty years. The testimony of a 
city missionary is that he can persuade twenty to 
attend the theatre service more easily than one to 
attend the service in a church. The character of the 
audience before us is such that, if they were not 
gathered here, they would be spending the Sabbath 
evening drinking in the numerous neighboring grog- 
geries. We are struck with the preponderance of men 
present. They make up at least two-thirds of the 
audience. The decorum is admirable, far above what 
one would expect in such a mixed audience. The 
service is attractively simple, every element of sensa- 
tionalism is rigidly excluded. The singing is led by a 
good choir. The brief prayers and sermon are 
delivered in simple, earnest language. The entire 
service does not occupy more than an hour. At its con- 
clusion, an invitation is extended to anxious souls to 
remain at the after meeting, when the Christian workers 
meet with inquirers and make known to them more 
fully the way of salvation. 

Special services are occasionally held, such as 
harvest thanksgivings, men's meetings and children's 
services, when an attractive programme is presented. 
Similar meetings are held at the Surrey, the Amphi- 
theatre, the South London Palace and several other 
theatres. 

The testimonies of those who have officiated at 
these services will attest their usefulness. 

The Rev. John Graham, an eminent Non-Conformist 
minister, now enrolled in the church triumphant, wrote 
this experience when he preached at a theatre service : 



68 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

" I mingled with the multitude as they issued from the serv- 
ice and had an opportunity of more closely observing their 
bearing and grades. They appeared to be drawn from the 
lowest stratum of London's population, such as the Great 
Master would have had compassion on, as sheep scattered and 
without a shepherd. Nowhere in the three kingdoms, during a 
ministry of nearly twenty years, have I ever preached to an 
assembly of my fellow-men that seemed more to need the 
preaching of the Gospel of hohness and peace." 

Another writes: 

** When I officiated at the Victoria Theatre, the crowd was 
so great that the police were compelled to shut the doors before 
the time of service. The congregation consisted almost entirely 
of men. The hubbub that existed ceased the moment I asked , 
the dense congregation to unite in prayer ; but from the few 
voices that joined in repeating the Lord's prayer I judged that 
the large portion of them had little or no acquaintance with it." 

The late Lord Shaftsbury, who was chairman of 
the committee of the Special-Service Mission for 
twenty-six years, confirms the above statements by 
personal observation upon three separate occasions at 
the Victoria Theatre, when there were at least thirty- 
two hundred persons packed into the, building. He 
said : 

" From the beginning to the end of the service, no assembly 
could have been more orderly, more attentive, apparently more 
devout and more anxious to catch every word that fell from the 
preacher's lips. On one of these occasions, so solemn and 
touching was the discourse, and so moved were many, even of 
the wildest and roughest present, that when after the benedic- 
tion, they rose to leave the building, they went so quietly and 
solemnly that you could hardly hear the sound of a footfall." 

In addition to the theatres, several halls are utilized 
in districts populated by the working people. The 
Bermondsey Town Hall has been occupied by the 
Special-Service Mission from October until March for 
the past seven winters. 

The population of Bermondsey and Horsely Town, 
according to the last census, was 95,529. The total 
church accommodation is twenty-three thousand, and 



POPULAR RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 



the average attendance of worshipers is eleven thou- 
sand. The city missionary of this district informs us 
that there are thousands of workingmen and their 
wives, who seldom or never darken a church door 
except it be at a wedding, a christening, or a funeral. 
The afternoon and evening services at the Town Hall 
every Sabbath have succeeded in drawing under 
religious instruction congregations numbering about 
a thousand. 

At the close of the services in March of last year, 
a tea meeting was given in order to gather up the 
results of the winter's work. About three hundred 
people remained to the after-meeting to testify to the 
spiritual help they had received at the services ; and a 
neighboring, pastor afterwards found that eleven out of 
sixteen candidates for church membership had received 
their first religious impressions at the hall. 

The committee are also engaged in erecting new 
mission halls in districts densely populated by the 
working poor, as memorials to their late president, 
Lord Shaftsbury. These will accommodate small con- 
gregations and are intended for daily use. The first 
of these halls was finished in 1888, in Gossett street, a 
district of dire poverty. It has been open every night 
in the week. Upwards of four hundred meetings were 
held during the year and twenty conversions have 
been reported. 

The character of the congregations attending this 
special service shows that the mission is successful in 
drawing the lapsed under its influence. The assembly 
in the Amphitheatre at High Holborn, is composed 
largely of stablemen who find the theatre a church 
suited for them, because " they don't have to dress to 
go there." At some services two-thirds of the con- 
gregation are such as nothing but a prize fight could 
interest, a tap room attract, and who apparently are 
never excited above the mere animal in anything. 



70 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

At the Surrey Theatre three-fourths of the audi- 
ence were poor, laboring men, many of whom had 
been met with during the day on the streets and in the 
parks, and given a printed invitation to the services. 

The special mission service is a stepping-stone 
between the church and the masses. Last season a 
mechanic and his wife were converted at the Brittannia. 
They united with a congregational chapel, and per- 
suaded thirteen of their neighbors to accompany them 
to their new place of worship. The Rev. H. E. Stone 
reports that from the Philharmonic service forty-eight 
gave in their names as blessed through the Word 
preached. The Rev. Mr. Sawday states that at least 
two hundred have come under his notice who date 
their conversion to the Gospel meetings at the Sadlers 
Wells Theatre. 

" Since the commencement of the services in the 
South London Palace," writes a city missionary, 
" fully forty persons to my knowledge have been led 
after instruction in my Bible class and by their own 
choice, to connect themselves with churches in the 
neighborhood." 

Many interesting incidents and remarkable conver- 
sions have come under the notice of the committee in 
connection with the work. A poor navvy came to a 
service in his every-day garb, but was so impressed 
with the necessity of neatness that he hired a second- 
hand suit of clothes and attended the following Sab- 
bath with increased feelings of respectability. Infidels, 
drunkards and criminals have been among the anxious 
inquirers for salvation. 

" Where did you learn that hymn ?" inquired a 
missionary of a woman singing over the washtub. 

" At the Surrey, sir," was her prompt reply. 

A ticket-of-leave-man, on his way to commit a 
burglary was led by curiosity to spend a half hour in 
the theatre. He was convicted of sin, and at the close 



POPULAR RELIGIOUS SERVICES. 71 

came to the preacher, handed over his tools, and 
begged to be put in the way of securing honest 
employment. He was afterwards sent to the West 
Indies where he secured work at his trade. A part 
of the first money he earned, was sent to the Secretary 
of the mission, with instructions to devote one pound 
to the special-service fund, two shillings and six pence 
to the Bible Society (he had been presented with a ten- 
penny Bible before he left London), and the remainder 
of his contribution, five and twenty shillings for tracts 
to be distributed among his old " pals." 

Such facts and successes encourage the committee 
to extend these novel methods for reaching the multi- 
tude in the streets and lanes of the city, and compelling 
them to come and hear the Word of the Lord. 




CHAPTER VI. 
THE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE. 

TT ALLELUJAH ! The word in a suppressed musi- 
^ ^ cal voice fell upon our ears amid the bustling 
crowd in Cheapside. We turned to see what happy 
heart gave forth such joyful sound in that busy thor- 
oughfare, and there passed by two " tambourine 
lasses" of the Salvation Army. That simple incident 
suggested this chapter. 

London is the birthplace of this modern religious 
phenomenon. Here it was cradled, and here for years 
it gre\V into the sturdy giant who, with strides like the 
fabled league boots, has marched around the world. 
There is, perhaps, no better place to study the aggress- 
ive movements of the army than upon its native soil, 
where, for a quarter of a century, the General, with that 
unflagging zeal which animates every member of the 
army, has been conducting an offensive war against 
the sins that shackle the lowest classes in abject 
misery. 

On the 5th of July, 1865, William Booth, with God 
at his back, began to preach the Gospel upon a plot 
of ground in the East End of London, known as Mile 
End Waste, among the million of people who inhabit 
that neighborhood, thousands of whom never heard 
the sound of a preacher's voice. The small group that 
assembled, more from curiosity than interest, was a 
fair specimen of the outcast population of his chosen 
parish. Here he gathered his first congregation and, 
forming them into a procession, marched to a tent, 
pitched in an old burying ground nearby. From that 
first procession, which consisted of the General and 



THE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE. 73 

two faithful followers, until the present, the parade has 
been a unique feature in the warfare. After the 
destruction of his tabernacle, by a wind storm, he 
gathered his boisterous congregation on Sunday in a 
dance hall — the ''Waste ground" serving for the 
evening meetings. As the work spread, the most 
unlikely places were utilized for service. A wool 
warehouse, a stable-loft, a carpenter shop, a skittle 
alley, became the " chapels of ease " for these rough 
assemblies gathered from the slums of the East End. 
But even these places were held by an uncertain 
tenure, and often the congregation w^as compelled 
upon short notice to seek other quarters. These 
migrations proved detrimental to the success of the 
work, and every effort was made to secure permanent 
buildings for housing the growing congregations. 
After much effort, a theatre at Limehouse, with all its 
paraphernalia, was purchased. Then the " Eastern 
Star," a place notorious for its immorality, w^as leased 
and fitted up. Then the Effingham Theatre, one of the 
lowest in London, was secured. The success attending 
the meetings here brought the movement prominently 
before the public. In addition to the theatres, several 
halls were built, purchased, altered and fitted up for 
the accommodation of the growing work in different 
parts of the metropolis. These conventicles soon 
became too small for the multitudes that flocked to 
see and hear the Salvationists. They secured the 
Orphan Asylum, one of the largest buildings in 
London, and prepared it for the seating of five thou- 
sand people. The " Eagle " and " Grecian," two of 
the largest and most notorious haunts of vice, were 
next wrested from the enemy and were crowded 
nightly, and Exeter Hall, with a seating capacity of 
three thousand, was occupied day and night. So 
rapidly did the army seize the most commodious 
buildings, that fear was felt lest there would be no 



74 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

place left for holding political or other large mass 
meetings. 

During the twenty-five years of progress, the 
evolution of the organization, under the superintend- 
ence of the Rev. William Booth, was gradually devel- 
oping until it reached its present proportions. The 
army is a growth. It was not made. It is a creature 
of environment. At first it was known as " The East 
London Christian Revival Society." Then the '' East 
London Christian Mission," which, as its sphere of 
usefulness spread, became in 1873 the "Christian 
Mission" with formulated doctrines, printed discipline, 
and Methodistic government. At this time it con- 
sisted of seventeen circuits under twelve superintend- 
ents, numerous evangelists and a yearly conference, 
composed of the "evangelists entirely employed in 
the work, and of two lay delegates, one of whom was 
often a woman. The smallest number composing a 
conference was eleven and the largest one in 1876 
swelled to sixty-seven." A unique officer of these 
early conferences was the timekeeper, to whom was 
assigned the duty of breaking in upon the business of 
the conference at the end of every hour with the call 
of "time," for the purpose of prayer and praise. At 
the conference all the business of the Christian Mission 
was transacted, the reports were made, the future 
policy was debated and decided upon and the appoint- 
ments for the succeeding year were arranged. The 
last conference was held in 1878, and huge posters 
startled the community by announcing the assembly 
as a "War Congress," at which was formed the 
organization, now known throughout the world as the 
" Salvation Army." So rapidly did the army increase 
that in five years following the last conference of the 
" Christian Mission," there were 442 corps under 1067 
officers laboring in thirteen countries : these increased 
during the succeeding five years to the number of 



THE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE, 75 

2413 corps, 548 outposts, with 6391 ofificers scattered 
over thirty-one countries, and speaking thirty-five 
different languages. Its ofificers held two million 
three hundred thousand meetings and visited three 
million houses ; while in the United Kingdom alone, 
over one hundred and fifty thousand people expressed 
a desire for salvation at the penitent form. 

There are, at the present writing, scattered over 
the field at home and abroad, 2799 army corps, com- 
manded by 8880 ofificers, of whom sixteen hundred 
are staff ofificers. " There are sixteen houses of rest, 
thirty slum posts, four prison brigades, three food 
depots and five night shelters." 

The various army corps in London occupy barracks, 
most of which were once used as low theatres, concert 
saloons and gambling hells, where nothing but curses 
were heard, and brutal and lascivious performances were 
exhibited. Now the salvation songs and voice of 
prayer fill the air ; and nightly, in these meetings, men 
and women struggling from the lowest depth of degra- 
dation are to be seen pressing into the kingdom of 
heaven. Devils are being cast out, and those lately 
possessed are to be seen clothed and in their right 
minds. Thieves and harlots are converted to God. 
Drunkards and prize fighters become preachers of 
righteousness. 

The impress of the army's influence is seen and 
heard on every hand. You will hear the navvy 
whistling their lively tunes as he hastens in the early 
morning to his daily toil. From the open window of 
the lofty tenement there floats out upon the stifling 
air of the narrow court a song from their penny selec- 
tion. The ragged children in the back streets form 
mock processions, and march to an improvised bar- 
rack in a neighboring doorway. The uniformed 
ofificer passes you upon the crowded thoroughfare, as 
he or she hastens upon an errand of mercy. You will 



76 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

find them in the most out-of-the-way places, among 
the dirtiest, poorest purlieus, where they are wel- 
comed with a '' God bless them lasses/' Their proces- 
sions are seen, their drums are heard, their flags are 
flying in every quarter. Bands of men and women, 
praying and singing and exhorting, occupy prominent 
street corners. Their barracks are open almost every 
night ; their soldiers are shouting the " War Cry " 
through the crowded thoroughfares. Their publica- 
tions are seen in the shop windows; their soldiers, 
with badge and motto, are to be found in shop, office 
and factory. Their officers are to be met at the 
prison, the asylum, the hospital and the almshouse, all 
proclaiming the fact that the Salvation Army has 
made a deep impression upon the hearts of those toil- 
ing masses who, before its advent, were not reached 
by any religious influences. 

So radical has been the change in many that they 
have lost their old names, along with their old charac- 
ters, ^^ Fighting" Bill, ^^ Swearing" Ann, ^^ Drunken" 
Mary, have become, ** Hallelujah" Bill, '' Happy" Ann 
and '^ Redeemed " Mary. But to realize the depth 
from which some of these Salvation soldiers have been 
dragged, you must listen to their testimonies at a 
'' Saved Drunkards' " demonstration in a barrack in 
the East End of London. Here you will not wonder 
at the rapturous ejaculations of prayer, nor be startled 
at the hallelujahs of praise, but will join in the general 
rejoicing that ''His arm is not shortened," and that 
'' His hand is stretched out still." 

The success of the army is a history of obstacles. 
Every victory has been won only by faith and courage 
after a severe struggle. Their every advance was 
strenuously resisted by enemies open and in ambush. 
The first opposition came from the forces of unright- 
eousness. The publicans and sinners attended by 
'' lewd fellows of the baser sort," were against them. 



THE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE. 77 

Their processions were interrupted, their instruments 
were broken ; their barracks were wTCcked, their 
uniforms were ruined and their bodies bruised. Both 
church and state were arrayed against them. They 
were arrested, tried, admonished, imprisoned. But by 
both love and law they have triumphed over all their 
enemies, whose opposition, in the providence of God, 
only proved to be a means of most unexpected bless- 
ing. It forced the army before the public, the news- 
papers were compelled to notice its work, and many 
of the persecutors became preachers, in the army they 
once opposed. In this way a multitude who would 
never have taken the least interest in the organization, 
moved by its oppression, came forward with practical 
aid and sympathy. And yet they bore all these 
assaults and indignities without retaliation. This is 
more surprising when we remember the class from 
which the army is largely recruited. But yesterday 
they were wild, reckless, troublesome citizens ; they 
were among the cursing, drinking crowds, ready at 
any moment for a row. They would brook no injury, 
bear no insult, real or imaginary — and yet these very 
men and women submit both their person and property 
to the most outrageous treatment without retaliation. 
This is the best testimony to the nature of the change 
that has been wrought in them. 

These open assaults are not now so frequent in the 
metropolis as in former years. The persistent courage 
of the army, the remarkable conversions of compan- 
ions, the love and sympathy of the officers for the 
outcast, have won for it the good will of its former 
enemies, who now serve as a shield to protect it from 
the violence of the mob. 

While the main efforts of the army are directed 
against the sin and misery of the lowest classes, it has 
not neglected that large middle class who compose 
the bulk of the nation's brawn. It has attracted to its 



78 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

banner many respectable citizens, as well as the most 
abandoned criminals. In its ranks are to be found 
tradesmen, clerks, mechanics, seamstresses and serv- 
ants, marching side by side with the converted thief, 
harlot, and drunkard. Ministers have given up their 
charges, lawyers have abandoned their profession, 
officers of the government have relinquished profitable 
positions and persons of w^ealth and refinement have 
denied themselves the luxuries of home, to assume the 
duties of Salvation soldiers. 

If we are to see the army doing its best work, we 
must pass the meetings for '^ respectables " at Regent 
Hall and other places, where efforts are being made to 
reach the "upper classes," and seek some humble 
barrack in a dirty lane or narrow court, in the poor- 
est neighborhoods, and there judge of the work 
assigned to and accomplished by the busy, bustling 
Salvationists. 

We have not far to go to find such a corps. Our 
attention is attracted by a huge sign, bearing a flaring 
inscription in large red and blue letters, swung out in 
front of a dingy building in a small street off Totten- 
ham court road. We read the startling announcement : 

THE SALVATION ARMY. 

"prince of wales.** 

Staff-Captain Morrell, 

An old friend of ours, will conduct three days 

DASH! CRASH!! AND SMASH!!! 

At the Devil and his kingdom. A desperate effort of practical 
love and sympathy, to get poor sinners to 

Escape the Torments of Hell on Earth 

and hell hereafter, 

Saturday, Sunday & Monday, Sept. 8th, qth & ioth. 



THE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE, 79 

Presenting ourselves at the barrack, we are informed 
by the sentinel that " none but soldiers are admitted 
at present." No persuasion can induce the door- 
keeper to admit us, until the appointed hour. We find 
ourselves in what has evidently been a low-class 
theatre. The scenery and other paraphernalia have 
been removed. The walls are adorned with Scripture 
texts. There are assembled about forty soldiers, 
attired in attractive uniforms, the men with scarlet 
guernseys with a motto embroidered across the breast 
in yellow letters— *' The world for Christ," " All for 
Jesus," " Saved to Save," and such like, suggestive of 
the wearer's consecration. The more prosperous, who 
can afford it, have the full regulation uniform, blue- 
striped pants, jackets, bearing the suggestive initials 
S. S. upon the collar, and the cap with glazed peak 
and red band with the word ''Salvation Army" 
prominently across the front. 

The women are dressed in navy-blue skirts and 
becoming poke bonnets, trimmed with dark-blue rib- 
bon. Many of them hold tambourines decorated with 
bells and ribbons. The captain offers prayer in behalf 
of the reconnoitering expedition, a "war song" follows, 
and the line of march is formed. At the head of the 
procession is an aged standard bearer, triumphantly 
holding aloft the blue flag with its prophetic central 
inscription, " Blood and Fire." He is followed by the 
brass band, and the " tambourine lassies" come next, 
and the soldiers bring up the rear. The captain gives 
the command "forward, march," the band strikes 
up a lively tune, the soldiers raise their voices in song 
and the women rattle the tambourines as the proces- 
sion passes from the lights of the barrack into the 
foggy darkness of the narrow streets. For half an 
hour they tramp in the mud and mist, through streets 
lined with lofty tenements, whose windows are thrown 
open and here and there an occupant joins in the 



80 THE EVANGELIZATION OE A GREAT CITY, 

song. They turn into a narrow lane, infested with 
groggeries, emptying the pubHc houses, whose cus- 
tomer wants to see '' the fools," as the publican says, 
'' who should be in the lockup for disturbing the 
peace." All the while the soldiers are distributing 
small handbills to the men, women and children, who 
crowd the sidewalks, inviting them to the " Dash, 
Smash and Crash " meeting at eight o'clock. A halt 
is made at the corner of a crowded thoroughfare for a 
fifteen-minute prayer meeting. Upon reaching the 
barrack, we are admitted single file, the rough, sturdy 
sentinel scrutinizing everyone who enters. 

What a transformation in those beautiful uniforms ! 
Some are mud bespattered, others are covered with 
flour, the band-master is decked in a mantle of white. 
The audience in the pit, however, offer a more striking 
subject for study than the soldiers on the platform. 
What a congeries has been drawn together by that 
night's parade. Men and women from the lowest 
strata of society, their countenances marred by rum 
and brutalized by wicked nature. Mothers with nurs- 
ing infants in their arms wrapped in ragged shawls ; 
men with greasy coats — or no coats at all ; women 
with bruised features and matted hair ; boys and girls 
with scanty clothing and dirty faces. These make up 
the hundred auditors that stare in blank curiosity at 
the corps seated upon the stage, and listen, during the 
two hours of service, to the music, the speeches and 
the songs. After considerable effort the captain 
succeeds in securing order, and announces the nine- 
tieth hymn in the penny song book. To appreciate 
the singing, with instrumental accompaniment, in a 
Salvation Army barrack, one must witness it for him- 
self The song of a Salvation soldier effects his whole 
body. They sing from the heart, and from the head 
and arms and feet, too ; as for making melody, we 
will not express an opinion. It is remarkable for its 



T'HE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE, 81 

lung power, endless repetition and surprising variations, 
they sing the hymn pianissimo ; they sing it forte ; 
they sing with instrumental accompaniment and anon 
without. The brethern will sing alone, then the 
sisters. They sing it as a solo, a duet and*^s a chorus. 

The praying like the singing is spirited and diver- 
sified. Indeed, everything connected with the service, 
from the marching to the collection, is done with com- 
mendable enthusiasm. The prayers abound with 
thankfulness for salvation from sin and for suffering in 
the cause. Earnest petitions are offered for the back- 
sliders and sinners present, interspersed with much 
exhortation and personal experience ; all the soldiers 
uniting their asseverations with frequent and, at the 
close, united amens. The speeches are brief, com- 
posed largely of personal history and urgent exhorta- 
tions delivered in a most earnest manner. Some even 
weep as they recall their past life, and plead with their 
companions to forsake sin, calling on them to witness 
the change wrought in their own lives. 

After an hour or more spent in this preliminary 
exercise the captain rises, " to bring the meeting 
to a close." A half hour after, however, as we with- 
draw he is still exhorting his auditors to come and 
kneel at the penitent form, where two had already 
prostrated themselves, to seek salvation. 

Such is the work of the Salvation Army. This is 
but one of the hundred such meetings held that night, 
in just such neighborhoods and among such audiences 
as v/ere gathered in the " Prince of Wales" theatre. 

But this reveals only one branch of the army's 
work, that ramifies into all parts of the city's life. 
While such meetings are being conducted in the 
barrack, corps of women are engaged upon the streets, 
searching out their unfortunate sisters, who seek to 
earn their bread by a life of sin. You will find the 
modest " lasses " at midnight in the neighborhood of 



82 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

Piccadilly, at the principal railway stations and along 
the thoroughfares, conspicuous in their plain dresses 
and poke bonnets, trying to persuade the gaily attired 
women to abandon the paths of sin for those of virtue, 
and leading them to the neighboring rescue home. 

A visit to the rescue house — one of the twelve 
homes — is a fair specimen of the busy life lived therein. 
It is a spacious, detached house, with a large garden 
and lofty rooms, comfortably furnished. A home-like 
spirit pervades the large family. A large, airy apart- 
ment serves for workroom and meeting-room, where 
the girls from the other homes gather once a week for 
prayer and conference. A deep, religious atmosphere 
pervades the entire household. Prayer meetings are 
frequent, and Bible readings are held morning and 
evening. The whole house is as busy as a beehive. 
The office is deluged with letters from all parts of the 
country, containing requests for help, inquiries for 
wayward daughters, and information about missing 
girls. Four secretaries are busy answering them, as 
every letter receives attention. 

The workroom is another busy quarter. Here the 
girls are engaged with knitting machines, turning out 
socks, boys' jackets, suits, Tam o' Shanters, etc. Some 
are sewing, some are doing plain needlework, some are 
making " wash-texts '' for barrack and mission-rooms, 
while other inmates are employed in the different 
household duties. 

The inmates number at least a hundred of all ages, 
from the callow child of twelve to the callous dame of 
forty — all rescued from the seething whirlpool of 
iniquity that was swiftly drawing them into eternal 
death. 

From these homes, hundreds of young women 
have been restored to their parents, sent out to service 
and other employment, whereby they can earn an 
honest living. 



THE SALVATIONISTS' WARFARE. 83 

Another effort, closely related to the rescue work, 
and yet distinct from it, is the " slum warfare." In 
November, 1886, three rooms were rented in the vilest 
spots in the south of London, where vice, in its most 
hideous form, stalked abroad in the courts and alleys, 
in the lodging and public houses, in dens of vice and 
thievery. These slum posts are scantily furnished, 
and two officers, a man and wife, take up their home 
there and seek, day and night, to rescue the outcasts. 
They, with the assistance of other soldiers, visit every 
house in the district. They dress in the most humble 
garb, going even barefooted, like their neighbors, to 
gain an audience. 

They nurse the sick, assist the poor and feed the 
hungry. As the people are lifted out of their sin and 
misery, and prove their conversion by their changed 
life, they are attached to the staff and put to work 
among their neighbors. In a little over a year, this 
" slum, cellar, gutter and garret brigade " made the 
following report: 

Slum Homes 17 

Slum Offices 46 

Hours spent in visiting 29,002 

Houses visited 108,998 

Houses where prayer was offered 38,569 

Public houses visited 4,412 

People professing conversion 739 

Persons relieved 2,680 

Garments distributed 3,504 

Publications distributed 206,400 

"At least seventy of those who professed conver- 
sion have died happy in the Lord.'* 

Space will not permit a description of the many 
other agencies of these busy Salvationists, seeking to 
save the " lost of London." An interesting chapter 
might be written on the annual fete at the Alexander 
Palace, during the army's anniversary. Upon the last 
occasion, there were estimated to be present nearly 
fifty thousand soldiers and spectators to participate in 



84 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

the spectacular demonstration, lasting the entire day in 
the spacious grounds and buildings at Sydenham. 
Chapters might be written upon the temperance influ- 
ence of the army, whose every soldier is a total 
abstainer — upon the noble work of the " Prison-Gate 
Brigade," for the reception of criminals discharged 
from Her Majesty's prisons — upon the Junior Soldiers' 
work, in which thousands of children are engaged — 
upon the publishing departments, the food-shelters, 
international headquarters, building association, supply 
stores, training homes and other agencies used by this 
"force of converted men and women, joined together 
after the fashion of an army, who intend to make all 
men yield, or, at least, listen to the claims which God 
has to their love and service." 



^>^/^ 

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CHAPTER VII. 
REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS. 

ON January 7th, i860 (the birthday of the St. Giles' 
Christian Mission), a few young men, moved by 
a zealous impulse for the kingdom of God, met at the 
house of a Christian gentleman (Mr. George Hatton) 
for the purpose of taking steps to bring the Gospel to 
the poor and perishing of St. Giles — a parish " pro- 
verbial for its crime, its savage squalor and over- 
crowding," whose population has been described as 
knowing no more about the true God than *'a heathen 
tribe in the interior of Africa." 

It was resolved to secure a room for evangelistic 
services in the heart of this devil-ruled district, near 
the notoriously wicked quarter of the Seven Dials. It 
was further resolved that each person present should 
pay at least four pence per week, and collect addi- 
tional contributions in support of the movement. As 
a result of that humble effort, London is blessed with 
a most aggressive and successful evangelistic agency. 

During thirty years of varied experiences, the St. 
Giles' Christian Mission has been extending its lines 
of activity until there are now comprised under its 
management six mission halls, with numerous auxil- 
iaries, wherein are held twenty-five Sabbath services 
and several meetings every night during the week. 

Our introduction to these earnest volunteer work- 
ers, was at a '' Harvest-home " gathering at the com- 
modious chapel in Little Wild street, Drury lane. 
The mere mention of these streets to anyone familiar 
with the neighborhood are sufficiently suggestive of 
the character of the audience attracted to such a serv- 
ice. The auditorium, with a seating capacity of a 



86 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

thousand, was tastefully decorated with green plants 
and cereals. Sheaves of wheat, oats and rye, with 
pyramids of bread, meat and vegetables, adorned the 
platform. At the conclusion of an interesting service, 
in which the shabbily dressed congregation entered 
most heartily, both by singing the hymns and listening 
to the addresses, the viands were distributed through 
the neighboring tenements to the deserving poor. 

Every day the doors of this chapel are open for 
service, and over a thousand persons have been 
admitted to church membership. There are preach- 
ing services, children's meetings, Bible classes for 
young men and women, mothers' meetings, etc. 
Services similar to these are held at the mission halls 
in the Seven Dials and Brook street and Brewers' court. 

Much time and effort are expended on the poor 
and neglected children of the district. Four schools 
are supported, with two sessions each Sabbath, hp,ving 
ninety-five teachers and 990 scholars. There are also 
four children's services, seven Bands of Hope, a young 
converts' training class, a sewing class, week-night 
Bible classes and children's libraries. Prizes are given 
for punctual attendance at these services. In the 
various meetings there are about two thousand chil- 
dren under religious instruction every week, and the 
numerous letters received from former scholars bear 
testimony to the assistance received ; while not a few 
Christian workers in other parts of the metropolis 
date their first impressions of religious awakening 
to the instructions of the loving teachers of the St. 
Giles' schools. 

Adults and children of such ages, character and 
condition are found at these meetings, that one won- 
ders how they are gathered together. The secret is 
found in the systematic visitation of each district where 
a mission hall is placed. Every nook and corner is 
investigated. The streets, courts and alleys are 



REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS, 87 

scoured, the tenements from cellar to attic are 
searched ; the ill-smelling lodging-house kitchens 
are visited; shops, factories and stores are entered. 
Wherever it is possible and where it seems impossible 
for human beings to live, the visitors grope their way 
and encourage the inhabitants to attend the service. 

Mr. Wheatley, under whose direction this visitation 
is conducted, informs us that it is a self-denying work 
— a labor of love. Some of the members visit from 
early in the morning until late at night and they work 
in all kinds of weather. Some in the visiting bands are 
getting old and cannot climb up the long stairs ; but 
they so love the work they struggle on, being allotted, 
principally, the basements. 

There are ten thousand tracts distributed every week 
by these indefatigable visitors, whose silent messenger 
left behind often quickens the dormant feelings into 
life. The visitation is supplemented by the open-air 
workers, who go through the neighborhood singing 
hymns and holding meetings at the doors of the tene- 
ments, thus reminding the occupants of the hall serv- 
ice and attracting them thither. By alternating their 
route from week to week, they cover the entire district 
with prayer and praise, distributing, as they go, invita- 
tions to the service. 

In their daily spiritual ministrations, the visitors 
cannot be unmindful of the temporal needs of the poor 
in this poverty-ridden parish, where half-starved chil- 
dren mutely appeal for something to eat. During the 
winter, three thousand hungry children are provided 
with a substantial weekly dinner. The benevolent 
visitors discriminately distribute clothing, groceries, 
coal and other necessaries to the poor. But if you 
ask a St. Giles street-urchin what treat at the mission 
is most enjoyable, he will answer, " The day in the 
country.'' This great annual event in their cheerless 
lives is looked forward to with intense interest. It is 



88 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

the talk of the children for weeks, and very few sleep 
a wink the night before. So eager are they for a view 
of the green fields that numbers, heedless of repeated 
admonitions, present themselves at the starting-place 
hours before the appointed time. When the cars bear 
them beyond the smoky city into the suburbs, there 
is one continuous exclamation of delight at the strange 
country scenes on every hand. The universal senti- 
ment of the thousand children accustomed to the 
reeking atmosphere of the crowded slums, is voiced 
by a little tot crossing the meadows, knee deep in 
clover, as he draws in a long draught of the fragrant 
summer air, '' I do so like this kind o' smell.'' About 
125 of the most delicate children are also sent for a 
fortnight to the country or seaside. 

The past year witnessed the addition of a new 
department to the already manifold branches carried 
on by the mission ; namely, rescue-work among the 
lost women of St. Giles. Five homes have been 
opened for their reception. A conspicuous building, 
right on the corner of the Seven Dials, which for years 
served the devil successively as a low groggery, a 
penny gaff and a resort of debauchees of all ages, has 
been fitted up as a refuge, whose open doors day and 
night testify to the thorough conversion wrought 
upon the place as it welcomes the returning penitent 
seeking the sympathy of Christian friends. The lower 
room is used for mission services and the upper floors 
are devoted to dormitories and workshops for the 
rescued women. The methods employed in reaching 
this class are similar to those of other societies — such 
as personal visitation, midnight meetings, street solici- 
tation, free teas and sisterly charity, which the women 
missionaries of St. Giles have exercised so powerfully 
in other branches of the work. 

There is a most important branch of work still to 
be noticed ; namely, the society's efforts in behalf of 
discharged prisoners. 



REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS. 89 

A misty Saturday morning in September finds us 
by invitation at the gate of Holloway prison, to witness 
the practical mission work among convicts discharged 
from that institution. Besides ourselves there is a 
group of men and women in front of the public house 
opposite, alternately watching the tower clock and 
the wicket gate of the formidable prison entrance. 
Precisely at nine o'clock, the little gate opens and 
twenty prisoners are free. One is cordially received 
by the group of anxious friends, while the rest stand 
for a moment, as if bewildered by their liberty, hesitat- 
ing which way to turn and questioning whither they 
shall go. Back to their old cronies and their old life ? 
Is there no Christian agency in this philanthropic city 
to extend its reformatory influence over these danger- 
ous wards of society? Let us see. Notice how carefully 
each man scrutinizes the card in his hand, and how 
quickly all depart in the same direction. We follow 
them. About a block from the prison gate, situated 
on an open space, we find a small, corrugated-iron 
building, bearing a large sign in conspicuous letters : 
" St. Giles' Christian Mission. Discharged prisoners 
are welcome to a breakfast free of charge." 

As we enter, the attendant is collecting the invita- 
tion cards which each man received as he left the 
prison. The room resembles a restaurant and mission 
hall combined. Plates of buttered bread and cups of 
steaming coffee are distributed to the hungry guests 
seated at long tables. The missionary, himself a 
'' brand plucked from the burning," requests silence 
while he asks the blessing of God upon the meal. 
While busily engaged satisfying their voracious appe- 
tites, he reads to them an appropriate portion of 
Scripture and addresses to them a few plain sentences, 
the gist of which is to change masters and try Christ's 
yoke, since they found the devil's so galling. They 
are urged to sign the pledge-book presented to them, 



90 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

and begin life on the principles of total abstinence, 
which they were compelled to observe during their 
imprisonment. They are reminded of the assistance 
offered them by the Secretary of the mission, and are 
urged to visit him at the Brook-street office, where 
they will find true friends ready to help any who are 
willing to lead honest and virtuous lives. 

Such is the method used by the mission to reach 
criminals at the most critical period of their lives — 
immediately upon their discharge from prison dis- 
cipline, before they again fall under the influence of 
old associates. Similar meetings may be witnessed 
every weekday morning at the gates of the four 
metropolitan prisons, and yet this is but the first step 
of practical efforts in rescue work, which begins with 
visitations to the prisoners in their cells. The Secre- 
tary, during his visits, becomes intimate with those 
desirous of reformation, and subsequently meets them 
personally at his office in Brook street. 

A visit to the headquarters, will amply repay any- 
one interested in reformatory work. Here are the 
home and workshops for temporary residence, where 
the men are housed, fed, clothed, and given employ- 
ment until permanent situations are provided. 

There gather here every day discharged prisoners 
of all ages and stages of crime, seeking advice and 
help in their desire to lead honest lives. Each and all 
have a pitiful tale to tell of prosperity and adversity, 
temptation and crime. Not a few are respectably 
connected and have had the training of a Christian 
home. Very many, from their infancy, have heard 
nothing except profanity, and have seen nothing but 
vice. Some have held positions of trust, and others 
never knew what it was to have a " chance.'' Here is 
one who has spent fifteen years, and another five years, 
of penal servitude, who want to begin life over again. 
That young man at the desk was a chemist's assistant. 



REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS, 91 

In a drunken spree he lifted a cane from a shop door, 
and thereby lost his situation and reputation. He 
earnestly asks if he can get a position of some sort 
where he may redeem his character. Another is a 
mere lad sentenced for theft, and still another, a 
middle-aged woman, whose besetting sin is intemper- 
ance, but who has determined, " God helping her," to 
give up the drink and live a better life. 

As many as thirty applicants are consulted in 
a day. Each case is considered separately, and dis- 
posed of after careful inquiry. Some are sent to 
friends, others to service — each is removed as far as 
possible out of the way of former associates. One is 
sent to sea ; another emigrates. This one's tools are 
redeemed from pawn; that one receives a stock of 
small wares, or is put on the street with a coffee stand to 
earn an honest living. Those who have no friends and 
no prospects, are received into the Home, where they 
are employed at tailoring, shoemaking, upholstering 
and jobbing of all kinds, until employment is secured 
for them elsewhere. 

In this way over twenty-four thousand men have 
been provided for and started on the path of upright- 
ness, with the exhortation ringing in their ears of the 
necessity of securing divine strength for support. 

While there are many cases of disappointment met 
with, there are also many who have proved faithful. 
The records of the society show the history of not a 
few men who, encouraged to try again, have overcome 
temptation and are now respected members of the 
community. Numerous letters reach the office from 
distant parts, expressing the deepest gratitude for the 
friendly hand reached out to sinking men, and fre- 
quently there is inclosed a contribution to the friends 
of the mission. The following few lines, received 
lately, speak volumes of praise for the influence of the 
mission : 



92 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

** It is seven years ago this morning since I came out of 
prison, with no prospects before me but a hfe of crime and 
shame. God put it into your heart to speak to me at the prison 
gate. I went to the breakfast and heard words I could not get 
away from. The mission found me a place, and I have kept it 
ever since. I will bless God so long as I live, for the St. 
Giles' Christian Mission for Prisoners." 

These workers among convicts believe very heartily 
in the ounce-of-prevention adage, as evidenced by their 
efforts among the youths who are treading the path 
that leads behind prison bolts and bars. A large section 
of the criminal classes are recruited from the ranks of 
the young. Lads by no means viciously disposed are 
inveigled by experienced thieves into a trap, and are 
then used as tools to accomplish their wicked designs. 
The victim is often caught, but the instigator escapes. 
As these initial acts are often mere peccadilloes, the 
sentences are light, and the youthful criminal remanded 
to a reformatory. The St Giles' Mission supplements 
its work among discharged prisoners, by rescuing 
these lads from the taint and disgrace of prison life. 
For this purpose the Secretary attends the sessions of 
the courts to plead in behalf of such unfortunate lads, 
and secure their commitment to the care of the 
mission. The following case, which lately came under 
public notice, will illustrate the necessity and design 
of this branch of the work. 

A poor orphan lad came to London from Lanca- 
shire in harvest time, with one pound in his pocket. 
He managed to live on his capital until December, 
when he was compelled to seek admission to the 
Casual Ward for food and shelter. Ignorant of the 
rules for admission, he was refused. At the same time 
a man only four days out of prison was also refused. 
He made the acquaintance of the lad; who was 
arrested the next day in possession of a roll of cloth. 
The lad pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three 
months' imprisonment. The old criminal pleaded not 



REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS. 93 

guilty, was tried and discharged. Mr. Wheatley hav- 
ing ferreted out these facts, laid the whole case before 
the judge, who at the Middlesex session addressed the 
jury as follows : 

" Gentlemen, you may remember a few days ago 
the lad Smith, and from what has been brought before 
my notice I am induced to alter that sentence." 

Later on the boy was brought into court from 
prison, where his punishment had already commenced, 
and was informed that his sentence had been altered to 
five days, and that he would now be discharged to Mr. 
Wheatley. The jury rose and thanked his lordship and 
Mr. Wheatley, who stood by his side, and requested 
the privilege of handing a little money they had 
collected among themselves over to the mission. 
The judge heartily agreed, testifying to the assistance 
the mission was always ready to give. The foreman 
then handed the contribution to Mr. Wheatley, who 
left with this boy, and also another, who had been 
committed to the mission's care. 

So well known has this branch of the work become, 
that a messenger is often dispatched from the court for 
the Secretary to come and inquire into the case of a 
young culprit. If extenuating circumstances can be 
shown, he is reported, in the now familiar phrase, as 
" remitted to the St. Giles' Mission." Thereby the 
mission has become guardian of a number of lads, 
whose ages range from twelve to eighteen years 
remanded for petty theft, passing counterfeit coin, 
consorting with thieves and like offenses. The boys 
are received into the Lads' Institute, near the Men's 
Home in Brook street, where temporary accommoda- 
tions are provided until situations can be secured for 
them in the army, merchant marine, or elsewhere, the 
object being to remove them as far as possible from 
the influence of bad companions. The Institute affords 
them all the comforts of a Christian home presided 



94 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

over by a " mother/' who takes a personal interest in 
every lad committed to her care, and seeks to make 
every member of her family realize the profit of a 
virtuous life. 

We might fill the succeeding pages of this chapter, 
with touching letters of gratitude from rejoicing 
parents, whose broken hearts have been healed through 
the rescue and change effected in their wayward boys. 

To see the practical results of mission work among 
the criminal classes you must visit that unique gather- 
ing at the annual supper, given to discharged prison- 
ers, rescued by the society, in the mission hall. Little 
Wild street. It would be hard to find such another 
assembly in the world. Looking from the platform 
upon the three hundred upturned faces, whereon is 
stamped every phase of character (from the cherub 
countenance of the beardless youth, to the brutal, 
features of the callous criminal), one cannot but remark 
the contrast of sunshine and shadow that plays there, 
as they compare their present and their past experi- 
ences. Some are well dressed and present a picture of 
prosperity — plenty of work, with happy homes and 
hearts. Others again are pinched both in features and 
in dress, clearly showing that the path of uprightness 
has not been one of plentifulness. All are determined, 
however, to pursue honesty, if it be at the price of 
poverty. 

The hall is decorated with flags and banners and 
Scripture mottoes. The appetizing odor of a savory 
supper encourages the patient hearers to wish that the 
flow of reason would speedily give place to the more 
material elements. They listen, however, with admira- 
ble patience to the distinguished speakers, who have 
come to meet with them on this "auspicious occasion." 
When the Lord Mayor who presides introduces a 
well-known magistrate, to whom many of the auditors 
were compelled to listen under far different circum- 
stances, the applause becomes very demonstrative. 



REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS, 95 

No one is received more cordially than their tried and 
true friend, the Secretary, of whom they are, later on 
in the programme, to show their appreciation by the 
presentation of a handsome gold watch. The report 
for the year which he presents, is received with hearty 
appreciation. He furnishes among other very interest- 
ing facts the following statistics : 

Prisoners discharged from city prisons .... i8,cxxD 

Accepted invitations to breakfast 15,200 

Signed the temperance pledge 5,400 

In addition there were 7548 boys assisted as follows: 

Sent to sea 118 

Emigrated to the Colonies (all their expenses 

paid by the Mission) 1 59 

Sent home to friends 297 

Relieved by employment, etc 6,974 

The results of this beneficent work is to be found, 
not only in the encouraging statistics of the reports, 
but also in the living witnesses of the rescued men 
themselves, and in the unsolicited testimony of judges, 
magistrates, prison chaplains and others, whose inti- 
mate relations with the criminal classes enable them 
to speak with authority upon the diminution of crime, 
and the depopulation of the prisons; and whose 
appreciation of the work is shown by annual contribu- 
tions to its funds. Space permits the insertion of a 
single letter from one of the most experienced magis- 
trates in a crowded district, on his retirement from the 
bench : 

** Dear Mr. Wheatley : 

" I shall not be present at your meeting to-morrow, but a 
few lines from me as an ex-magistrate of Lambeth Police Court 
may be of service to you. I gladly bear testimony to the 
excellent work done by the St. Giles' Christian Mission, both in 
regard to discharged prisoners and providing a home for des- 
titute boys. During the period I was acting as a magistrate at 
Lambeth, I have sent many boys to you, some of whom have 
been destitute and some fallen into evil courses. I have always 
found you most ready to co-operate with me in giving judicious 



96 



THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 



relief in these cases, and an opportunity of amendment. Many- 
lazy and viciously inclined boys have been reformed by the 
kind and judicious treatment they have received at your hands, 
and by the work provided for them. I am of opinion that 
society is deeply indebted to Mr. Hatton and yourself for the 
work you have so successfully carried on for many years, and 
I do hope the result of your meeting at the Mansion House will 
be a liberal subscription towards the support of your Mission. 
I inclose a cheque. Believe me, faithfully, Geo. Chance." 

Such a work is worthy a mission laboring in His 
name, who was sent ''to proclaim liberty to the cap- 
tives, and the opening of the prisons to them that are 
bound." 




CHAPTER VIII. 
SAILORS AFLOAT AND ASHORE. 

T^HE port of London registers the heaviest tonnage 
^ in the world. There are one thousand ships 
and nine thousand sailors in this port every day, and 
sixty-five thousand vessels enter and leave every year. 
The British merchant navy enrolls three hundred and 
fifty thousand seamen ; the Royal navy, sixty thou- 
sand ; and the fishermen, bargemen and boatmen, 
who frequent this port, number three hundred thou- 
sand. Here is a population, larger than some of our 
great cities, that spends most of its time afloat, but 
occasionally is put ashore for a few days or weeks, 
when special evangelistic efforts must be made to bring 
them under the influence of the Gospel. 

Sailors as a class have special claims upon Chris- 
tian philanthropy. The interest of the metropolis is 
bound up in her commerce. To sustain this the sailor 
takes his life in his own hands, and endures many 
hardships, of which those who profit by his risks know 
nothing. The biting frosts and burning suns and 
destructive tempests are his companions ; while curses 
and blows form a part of his daily wage. To him the 
words "home" and "fireside" have little meaning. 
There is no loving wife or prattling children or nour- 
ishing comforts to meet him upon his return, wet and 
chilled from the slippery deck. He knows no Sab- 
bath, receives no religious instruction, and enjoys little 
Christian companionship. Of the thirty-six thousand 
British merchant vessels, not one carries a chaplain. 
Add to this his experience on many a voyage. Robbed 
and drugged in a distant port, he is deposited helpless 



98 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

and unconscious on the fo'c's'le floor, only to wake up 
and find himself once more an unwilling prisoner at 
sea. Hardly yet sobered from the effects of the drug, 
and angry with all mankind, his insolence to the 
officer is answered by a blow, and from that moment 
the ship becomes, to him at least, a floating hell. He 
finds himself bound to a hard taskmaster, with no 
possibility of escape. His rations of hard tack and 
salt pork are often limited, and the roughest, hardest 
and dirtiest work is forced upon him. Chafing under 
this treatment, he reaches the London docks, eager to 
break away and drown his sorrows in intoxicants. 

On land the dangers are more threatening than 
those on the deep. The temptations are legion. The 
** harpies " that flock about the docks are as numerous 
as buzzards over a carcass. Scarcely has the ship cast 
anchor when she is boarded by a host of parasites, 
including boarding-house runners, publicans and 
" crimps," all eager to relieve ^^ Jack " of the pound or 
two left of his hard-earned wages. They are assisted 
by numerous attractive devices, set to allure their prey 
into the hands of the spoilers. Variety theatres, cheap 
concert saloons, assignation houses and low grogger- 
ies, supplied with every inveigling attraction, offer 
him convivial companions. For weeks deprived of 
society and pleasures, and now free from restraint of 
discipline, we are not surprised that "Jack" falls an 
easy prey to these blandishments. But he cannot 
enter into such diversions without money. This he 
cannot get until his ship is paid off The "crimp" 
(in theory the proprietor of a sailors' boarding-house, 
but in practice a merciless robber of seamen's wages) 
presents himself as his friend and offers to furnish him 
with advance money, taking his note as security until 
he receives his wages. " Jack's " generous nature 
cannot resist the flattering offer and in a few hours he 
is strutting around rigged out in a new suit, freely 



SAILORS AFLOAT AND ASHORE, 99 

spending his money among boon companions ; while 
the " crimp " is in possession of all his coming wages. 
This license lasts sometimes for a few hours only, 
when, drunk or drugged, ''Jack" is relieved of money, 
clothes and effects, and turned out more beggared than 
when he arrived ; or, perhaps, he is deposited helpless 
upon a vessel and shipped again, unconscious of the 
whole transaction. 

This is no fancy sketch. It is repeated even to 
this day in London and other ports. We can recall 
the sad experience of a sailor, who was discharged 
with ;^45 in his pocket. In three days he was back to 
his ship again, mad with himself and everybody else. 
He was robbed of his money, his chest, all his posses- 
sions, except, in his own words, "a bar of soap and 
a match box." 

Not many months ago an English sailor was paid 
off at Havre, receiving twenty sovereigns in wages. 
The evening of the same day, he was deposited by a 
** crimp" on board a steamer bound for Southampton 
with only a ticket for his passage. When *'Jack" 
awoke from his stupor, and found himself at sea, he 
went immediately to the captain and complained that 
the '' crimp '' had robbed him of every penny of his 
wages. The kind captain could do nothing but offer 
him a free passage on the return voyage, that he might 
prosecute the " crimp." On their return to Havre, 
the captain sent him to the British Consul and 
instructed him to await his arrival there. When the 
captain reached the consulate, there was no trace of 
"Jack." Further inquiry revealed the startling fact 
that he had been intercepted by accomplices of the 
"crimp" and shipped in an unconscious state that 
very day on a long voyage. 

Such treatment, by no means rare even at the pres- 
ent time, was a matter of daily occurrence before 
Christian philanthropy raised her voice in behalf of 



100 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

the sailor. Now, however, there are many safeguards 
cast about him. Parliament has legislated in his 
behalf. Christian love has hedged him about with 
attractions that counteract the devilish allurements 
besetting him, and devoted disciples meet his ship upon 
arrival and lead him to a place of safety. 

It is our purpose in this chapter to describe briefly 
the various agencies laboring in behalf of the moral, 
social and spiritual welfare of sailors connected with 
the port of London. 

If " Jack *' is to be forearmed against the *' crimp,** 
he must be forewarned before his ship reaches the 
dock. This can be done in the roadsteads, and ports 
of call, where merchant vessels await orders as to their 
port of discharge. They are detained here two or 
three days, which the sailors* friends utilize for their 
instruction. The Falmouth roads afford a good 
example of roadstead work. The Missions to Seamen 
have a station here, equipped with a mission yacht 
of ten tons burden, and a crew comprising the chap- 
lain, two lay helpers and one boatman. Every 
morning, except Sabbath, the yacht is launched for 
visitation among the ships lying a few miles off from 
the shore. Little time, however, can be spent with 
each vessel, owing to the number to be visited, there 
being upwards of three hundred, some days, in the 
roads. 

If practical, a short religious service is held, and 
" Jack '* is warned of the traps set for him ashore. 
He is advised to shun strangers who familiarly intro- 
duce themselves, and above all to ''steer clear** of the 
low boarding-houses and other resorts of the "crimp.** 
He is requested to sign the pledge as a safeguard 
amid the many dangers ashore, and is given a neatly 
printed invitation, with a plan of the docks, directing 
him to the Sailors' Institutes, where he will find true 
friends and all the comforts of a Christian home. 



SAIL ORS AFL OA T AND ASHORE, 101 

This friendly interposition between the "crimp" 
and his victim is daily manifested in London and 
other ports. The chaplain at Falmouth narrates an 
interesting experience with the crew of an English 
vessel bound for Dunkerque. He held a rehgious 
service on board and, after the usual warning, gave them 
papers of introduction to the mission chaplain, and 
also directions to the Sailors' Institute and Home at 
their port of discharge. When the ship arrived at its 
destination on Saturday, the " crimps '' and runners 
swarmed on board, offering the men every friendship ; 
but, to their surprise, their offers of hospitality were 
met with cold indifference, and " Jack " turned a deaf 
ear to every solicitation. The entire crew took lodg- 
ings in the Sailors' Home and attended the Sailors* 
Mission twice the next day. On Monday, after receiv- 
ing their wages, and before starting for their homes, 
they drew up and posted a resolution of thanks to the 
chaplain at Falmouth for his interest and advice, that 
had saved them from inevitable wreck, had they not 
been " warned of the dangerous shoals." 

During the past year there were 3709 visits paid 
from Falmouth station alone ; while the same work is 
carried on at eleven other roadsteads, where mission 
boats brave many a rough sea to save " Jack " from 
moral ruin. The vessels that go direct to the London 
docks, without calling at the roadsteads, are met at 
Gravesend by mission boats, and boarded by the 
agents of sailors' societies who accompany them up to 
the wharves. For even here '* Jack's " resolution 
must be upheld against the flattering solicitations of 
his disguised enemies. Notwithstanding past experi- 
ences and frequent warnings, his credulous nature and 
yearning for society, will be overcome in the midst of 
dazzHng temptations. The sailors' friends, therefore, 
are present at the dock and on the ship, to guard their 
protege and guide him to his temporary abode. 



102 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

Among the bustle on the wharf, we notice the agents 
of the Sailors' Home, with carts and carmen, wearing 
a distinguishing uniform, with a conspicuous band on 
their caps marked in gold letters, "The Sailors' 
Home." It is pleasing to see how readily many of 
the sailors, having learned from experience or report 
the advantages offered, place themselves and their lug- 
gage on these carts, and are driven direct from the 
ship to the home at Well and Dock streets. 

This large and substantial building, erected in 
1835, and enlarged in 1865, will accommodate five 
hundred seamen. It unites the comfort of a home 
with the advantages of a club. During its early his- 
tory, the annual deficiency was supplemented by 
voluntary contributions ; but, owing to the large 
patronage enjoyed, the institution, for a number of 
years past, has been self-supporting. 

By the payment of fifteen shillings per week, "Jack '' 
is entitled to four substantial meals a day, a separate 
cabin for slumber, and all the conveniences of the 
home. These include hot and cold baths, laundry 
and barber shops, smoking and lounging-rooms ; the 
use of the library, chess and other games; the privilege 
of the surgeon's attendance, occasional lectures and 
entertainments, and instruction in the navigation 
school. There is also a supply department, where a 
sailor's outfit can be purchased and storerooms where 
he may deposit his chests, should he desire to visit 
friends. There is also connected with the institution, 
but in an adjoining building, an asylum for destitute 
sailors, who through carelessness, or intemperance, 
have been unable to secure a ship and are too poor to 
pay their way in the home. These are housed and 
cared for, until such times as a "berth" can be secured 
for them. The institution also acts as "Jack's" 
banker, furnishing him on his arrival with one pound 
in cash for his immediate needs, posting him of the 



SAILORS AFLOAT AND ASHORE. 103 

time his ship will be paid off, cashing his allotment 
notes, receiving his deposits, remitting sums to his 
family, and attending to all his money affairs free of 
charge. It also acts as his guide through the metro- 
polis or to his home, directing him as to the stations, 
trains and routes, and even providing him with the 
necessary tickets for his journey. Here his letters 
may be directed and all the correspondence of his 
family, relative to the movements of his ship, is cheer- 
fully answered. It also acts as his spiritual guide. 
There is a resident missionary and an honorable chap- 
lain connected with the institution. There; are daily, 
morning and evening prayers and service in the mis- 
sion hall on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Also 
divine service in the church adjoining the home 
every Sabbath, to all of which the boarders are urged 
to be present, although attendance is voluntary. 

Being specially licensed by the Board of Trade, the 
institution acts as shipping master, providing seamen 
and apprentices with "berths'* in merchant ships. 
The steam launch " Maude'' acts as a floating waiting- 
room off Gravesend, with seamen on board to supply 
vessels leaving port short handed. There is also a 
branch home here, where sailors waiting to be paid off, 
or to join their ships, can be accommodated upon the 
same terms as at London. 

With such protection from extortion and imposi- 
tion, we are not surprised to learn that over four hun- 
dred thousand sailors, representing every creed and 
clime, during the past fifty years, have taken advantage 
of the hospitality of the " Sailors' Home." 

This number, however, represents a small fraction 
only of the sailors visiting the Thames. Other agencies 
must supplement the efforts of this home, to reach 
those who, either from want of accommodation or 
from inclination, are forced into the iniquitous neigh- 
borhoods surrounding the docks. 



104 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

The Sailors' Welcome Home represents a class 
of smaller homes that offer an asylum to tempted 
seamen. The Sailors' Welcome Home is located in 
the centre of Ratcliff Highway, a famous rendezvous 
for ungodly sailors frequenting the London docks. 

In this neighborhood every establishment asserts 
its affinity " with those who go down to the sea in 
ships" by means of numerous nautical advertisements, 
such as a rusty anchor, a worn-out capstan, a weather- 
beaten sailor, a roughly painted ship, a flag, or even a 
nautical name to attract the sympathetic eye of the 
" old tar." 

The unsophisticated sailor regards this district as 
a port of Paradise. Here he casts anchor, and here, also, 
the devil holds high carnival among its dissolute inhabi- 
tants — composed of abandoned women, villainous 
'* crimps," thieves and vagabonds, who consort in the 
low groggeries, dangerous dives, penny gaffs, board- 
ing and lodging-houses. 

Should ''Jack," heedless of the warning and 
advice of his friends, gravitate into this sink of 
iniquity, he will seldom get beyond the precincts of 
its wretched sights and sensual life. Here he is 
housed, entertained, drugged and then relieved of his 
effects, and shuffled off the "crimp's " hands. 

In the midst of this iniquity, conspicuous by the 
contrasts of its cleanly appearance, stands the Sailors' 
Welcome Home, instituted and superintended by Miss 
Childs. 

The large plate-glass windows and the suspended 
lamp incribed with the motto (strikingly impressive 
amidst its blasphemous surroundings), "Jesus saith, 
Come unto me," emphasize the welcome awaiting all 
who enter. 

Pushing open the swinging-doors, we find our- 
selves in a spacious coffee-room, where several sailors 
are seated quaffing, with evident relish, pint mugs of 



SAIL ORS AFL OA T AND ASHORE, 105 

steaming cocoa. The walls are decorated with rough 
marine sketches and models, shells, sea-weeds and 
curios, brought from distant lands by patrons of the 
home. We are particularly struck with a chart sus- 
pended on the wall, bearing the track of a ship's 
course around the world, and the following inscrip- 
tion appended thereto : 

** Around the world in seventy-four days. Track of the R. 
M. S. Arawa to and from New Zealand. Outward-bound track 
marked in blue, via Teneriffe, Cape of Good Hope and Hobart. 
Homeward-bound track marked in red, via Cape Horn, Rio de 
Janeiro and Teneriife. Position of the ship each day at noon 
marked in blue." 

When the sailor hung the map up, he requested 
those at the home to remember him in their prayers, 
and promised to meet them at the throne of Grace 
every day at the time the ship reached the latitude and 
longitude marked in blue on the chart. 

The home accommodates forty men, who pay a 
nominal sum for board or lodging ; but none are 
turned away for want of funds. If '' Jack '' has fallen 
among " land sharks," and been despoiled of his 
goods, he will be received ; every care taken of him ; 
an outfit provided and a ship secured. And we are 
informed that honest "Jack" seldom fails to pay upon 
his return the debt thus incurred. 

All these temporal advantages, however, are but 
inducements to bring him under the influence of the 
Gospel. In addition to a short service after the morn- 
ing and evening meals, a daily Bible class is conducted 
and an evangelistic meeting held every night at nine 
o'clock in the fo'c's'le — a room fitted up in the base- 
ment, in imitation of that compartment of a ship. 

The late hour for service is selected, because the 
forces of evil are then most active. The low concert 
saloons and variety shows are in full blast, the public 
houses are thronged, and lewd women parade the 



106 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

streets. Then the workers at the Welcome Home 
go out to gather a congregation from the streets. They 
scatter invitations in the public houses, and hold open- 
air services to attract their shipmates from the haunts 
of vice into their comfortable fo'c's'le for a song. 

After a few Gospel hymns and prayer, and a short 
address, the meeting is open for testimonies. This is the 
most interesting part of the fo'c's'le service. To hear 
these rough sons of the sea tell of their hard service 
under the devil's command, of their rescue from 
intemperance and sin, and their pleasant experience 
under their new captain, is indeed to listen to a record 
of '' modern miracles." 

At the close of these services, an inquiry meeting 
is held for *' shipmates seeking a berth in the Gospel 
ship, under the command of Jesus." The converted 
sailors, together with the Christian workers, have 
organized themselves into the " The Christian Life-boat 
Crew." Every member of which promises '' in the 
strength of the Lord, to do all he possibly can to win 
souls for Christ, and pull with them to the port of 
glory, however contrary the wind or the tide may be." 
Several converts of these fo'c's'le meetings are now 
laboring as missionaries among seamen at Liverpool, 
Glasgow, London and Melbourne. 

At 163 St. George street, near the Welcome Home, 
is located the Strangers' Rest, established as a counter 
attraction to the public house, where so many sailors 
seek society. The Rest offers them a comfortable 
room, where they can meet their shipmates, read the 
newspapers and magazines, and find a friend to counsel 
them in any difficulty. Every day for the past twelve 
years, a religious meeting has been held at the Rest. 

Each nationality is provided with a separate room, 
so that the English, Scandinavians, Germans and Ital- 
ians have the service conducted by volunteer workers 
in their native tongue. Services are also held by the 



SAIL ORS AFL OA T AND ASHORE. Wl 

superintendent in the sailors' boarding-houses — the 
workers carrying a small harmonium from house to 
house to assist the singing. Every sailor, when leaving 
port, upon application receives a bag of Christian litera- 
ture and a neatly printed pocket pamphlet, containing 
the important information of a ''list of places in all 
parts of the world, where sailors may always find true 
friends and a hearty welcome." 

The Sailors' Institute, Shadwell, is the centre of 
the world-wide mission of the British and Foreign 
Sailors' Society, whose several agents in the metropo- 
lis devote their time exclusively to the sailors in 
the docks and on the ships in the Thames. Five of 
these are engaged in temperance work, with a floating 
library, distributing temperance literature, holding 
meeting and conversing with the individuals, ashore 
and afloat. Another accompanies down the river 
every ship of the Aberdeen Clipper Line. The com- 
pany, in recognition of his valuable service among the 
crews, makes a yearly appropriation for his entire 
support. Another remains at the Institute, to hear the 
complaints of seamen and advise them as to the best 
means for redress. One is stationed on the Milwall 
and in the Victoria and Gilbert docks, and another at 
the mouth of the Thames, to visit emigrant and sailing 
ships. Efforts are also made during the winter to 
house and feed destitute sailors unable to secure a ship. 

The Seamen's Christian Friend Society is another 
active agency. It employs missionaries, provides Sail- 
ors' Rests, opens reading-rooms and supports mission 
boats on the river. It places free libraries on out- 
ward-bound vessels, circulates the Scriptures in many 
languages, assists sick and destitute seamen, and carries 
on an extensive correspondence with sailors all over 
the world. This unique feature of the society's work, 
whereby every seaman who has come in contact with 
the mission, receives a letter upon his arrival at his 



108 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

destination, has called forth many touching replies, 
bearing testimony to the spiritual strength received 
through these exponents of friendly interest, when 
thousands of miles from home, and deprived of the 
communion of Christian companions. 

The London City Mission employs several agents 
among the foreign sailors on the river. One visits the 
Norwegians and Swedes ; two the Lascars from Asia 
and Africa ; while another devotes his time among the 
Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French. These for- 
eigners could not be induced to attend a Protestant 
service, or be found with a Bible in their possession at 
home, but, when free from priestly dominion and ad- 
dressed by a stranger in their native language, they 
readily consent both to hear and read the Gospel. 

The veteran missionary, Mr. Salter, has spent thirty 
years among strangers from the East. It is estimated 
that ten thousand Orientals annually visit this port. 
The Royal Albert docks is the ground where they 
mostly congregate. The stately steamers of the 
Peninsular and Orient Steam Navigation Company 
enter here, each of which carries about one hundred 
men of various nationalities. But this polyglot mis- 
sionary is equal to all the demands made upon him. 
He has, by patient study, mastered several Oriental 
languages and dialects. His congregation consists of 
various nationalities. One service will be for Japanese, 
another for Chinese, another for Arabs. He numbers 
among his parishioners, Malays and Swahilis, natives of 
Judea, Africa and the isles of the seas. At his services, 
meet the devotees of many religions. The Mohamme- 
dan, Hindu, Buddhist, Xavierite, Jew and Idolater 
are found there. Some cavil at the message, others 
listen, admire and accept the truth. He distributes 
in a single year, about ;^3000 worth of Christian 
literature. He visits the sick and injured in the hos- 
pital, and brightens their gloomy vigils by the familiar 



SAIL ORS AFL OA T AND ASHORE, 109 

sound of their native tongue. But the richest joy, in 
this difificult service among the superstitious and idola- 
trous, is to meet with a beHever, who has been bap- 
tized into Christ by a missionary in his far-away 
native land. How sweet to steal away to a corner of the 
ship with this child of God, to read and pray and hold 
fellowship, that he may be strengthened in the faith 
and bear living testimony to the power of God among 
his heathen shipmates. 

In this brief outline of the work among sailors, we 
have by no means exhausted the list of societies, nor 
have we made any mention of the special efforts put 
forth by the churches along the river front. 

While some sailors readily accept the proffered 
help of these vigilant agencies, others, heedless of 
every entreaty, follow the bent of their own wicked 
natures and fall an easy prey to the spoilers. These 
latter refuse to hearken to any advice, so long as they 
are under the influence of the alluring society of the 
London docks. 

At last the day arrives for prodigal "Jack'' to 
weigh anchor. It is impossible, amid the bustle and 
confusion of the ship's departure, to speak to him. 
Perhaps he is drunk in the fo'c's'le, or skulking about 
the deck, finding fault with everybody but himself 
for his misfortune. There will be, however, one more 
opportunity, if his ship be retarded by the westerly 
winds, and take shelter in the Downs off Kent, where 
the great stream of outward-bound vessels anchor in 
stormy weather. This harbor affords "Jack" a breath- 
ing spell for reflection, for penitence and for resolu- 
tions of betterment. Here, also, the missionary meets 
him with a final message of advice and warning. 

A few miles off from the anchored ship stretches 
the tapering shore — the last glimpse of "merry old 
England." From the deck the crew can see the 
station of the Missions to Seamen on the distant shore 



llO THk EVANGELIZATION OF A GRJSAT CITY. 

and the men launching the mission cutter, which is 
soon skimming over the waves, flying at her mast- 
head the mission's blue ensign. The mission boat is 
soon alongside, and the bowman drives his hook into 
the heaving hulk. A rope ladder is dropped over the 
side, and the chaplain with his two companions step 
on deck. The captain welcomes them to hold a serv- 
ice. The British red ensign is spread over the 
capstan, which serves as a pulpit. Hymn and prayer- 
books are distributed. 

To an observer it is a strangely impressive 
scene. The deep-blue sky, flecked with white, skim- 
ming clouds, the sea solemn in its vastness, stretching 
away toward the horizon, the crew with uncovered 
heads reverently joining in the service, the clear voice 
of God's messenger commending the ship, its officers 
and crew to the care of him, who holds the sea in 
the hollow of his hand — all tends to make the heart 
receptive of the truth. The deep impression on the 
ship's company is manifest when the chaplain refers 
to the sad fate of the " Kedron." '' Last year we 
boarded a barque homeward bound, after a long voy- 
age of over two years. They were bound for Riga, 
There was a gathering on deck similar to this. A 
deep interest was manifest at the service by all on 
board. So grateful were they to hear us, that with 
difficulty we avoided • accepting the presents pressed 
upon us. As we sailed away from the ship, they gave 
us a hearty farewell. Alas ! It was a long farewell. 
About a fortnight after that service, the following 
brief telegram appeared in the Standard: "The British 
barque ' Kedron ' has gone ashore off' Domeness. All 
Hands Lost !^^ 

The messengers of the Missions to Seamen are 
the first to reach the incoming, and the last to leave 
the outgoing, ships. How appropriate that their 
message should be the Gospel. Six days in the week 



Mil OkS AFL OA T AND ASILORM. Ill 

the chaplain is out among the fleet anchored in the 
Downs. He conducts services, distributes literature, 
provides libraries, sells Bibles and secures temperance 
pledges. He occasionally makes long trips to the 
lightships and lighthouses, where a religious service 
proves an enjoyable treat in the inhabitants' monoto- 
nous lives. The result of these evangelistic efforts 
among seamen entering the port of London, cannot be 
estimated until *'the sea gives up its dead.'' 

An old sailor contrasting his earlier and latter ex- 
perience says : " For fifteen years I went in and out of 
the port of London, and nobody ever spoke to me of 
my soul, or even gave me a tract. I was many years 
at sea before I saw a Bible in the fo'c's'le. All this is 
now changed. There are few ships that have not a 
Christian among the crew, and no fo'c's'le with- 
out a Bible." Thousands of vessels are floating the 
Bethel flag, a white burgee with blue star, the signal 
that the ship sails under a Christian captain, who 
conducts religious services regularly on board. The 
Lay-helpers' Association of the Missions to Seamen 
numbers a thousand officers and men, who bear wit- 
ness for Christ on every sea and in every port in 
the world ! 



CHAPTER IX. 
SAVING THE CHILDREN. 

T 1 rHO has not heard of Doctor Barnardo's Homes ? 
^ ^ Through the post, the press, the pulpit or, 
more forcibly still, through one of his rescued waifs — 
who has not learned of the Christ-like, far-reaching 
service of the East End Juvenile Mission ? Who is 
not familiar with the history of its origin and growth ? 
How the founder, when a young medical student, was, 
in the providence of God, brought face to face, on a 
cold winter night, with the first application for help — 
hungry, homeless and friendless. How that half- 
naked urchin, after the Ragged School was dismissed, 
could not be induced to leave the warm room even 
after all the other children had departed, but begged 
to be allowed to sleep there during the night How, 
in answer to the Doctor's pitiful question : '' Are there 
other poor boys like you in London?" the waif replied, 
with a look of wonder at the teacher's ignorance : 
" Oh ! yes, sir ; lots, 'caps o' 'em ; more'n I could 
count." And how, that very night, this wee, bare- 
footed child of misfortune led Doctor Barnardo to 
the lair of eleven destitute lads just like him. But 
listen to the reminiscence as told by the Doctor 
himself 

'* It was after midnight when we started to fulfill 
his promise to show me where there were ' lots o' 'em * 
of this kind. He led me into Houndsditch. Here we 
ascended a step or two into a kind of narrow court, 
through which we passed. And as my doubts were 
coming uppermost as to his sincerity, he said : * We 
will come on 'em soon ; they dursent stay about here 



SAVING THE CHILDREN, 113 

on account of the perleece/ With bated breath he con- 
tinued : ^ You'll soon see lots o' 'em, if we don't wake 
'em up.' A high dead wall stood before us. I said, 
' Where are the boys, Jim ?' ' Up there, sir,' he 
answered, pointing with his finger to the iron roof of 
the shed, of which the wall before us was the bound- 
ary. There seemed no way up ; but Jim made light 
work of it by finding holes in the wall into which he 
planted his toes until he was up, and I followed. 

" We stood on the stone coping, and there, exposed 
upon the dome-shaped roof, lay eleven boys, with their 
heads upon the higher part and their feet somewhat in 
the gutter, but in a great variety of positions — some 
coiled up as dogs before a fire, some huddled two or 
three together, and others more apart. All were with- 
out covering of any kind upon them, though it was 
freezing cold. The rags that most of them wore were 
mere apologies for clothing. One big fellow appeared 
to be about eighteen years old ; the ages of the others 
ranged from nine to fourteen. Just then the moon 
shone clearly out. I have already said it was a bitterly 
cold, dry night ; and, as the pale light of the moon fell 
on the upturned faces of those poor boys; and as I, 
standing there, realized for one awful moment the 
terrible fact that they were all absolutely homeless 
and destitute, and were, perhaps, but samples of num- 
bers of others, it seemed as though the hand of God 
himself had suddenly pulled aside the curtain which 
concealed from my view the untold miseries of forlorn 
child-life upon the streets of London. Jim looked at 
the whole thing from a very matter-of-fact point of 
view. ' Shall I wake 'em, sir ?' he asked. Overcome 
with t]ie horror of my own thoughts, and with my 
heaCrt beating with compassion for these unhappy lads 
whom I knew not how to assist, all I could say in 
response was : 'Hush; don't let us attempt to disturb 
them.' I felt at that moment, standing there alone in 



114 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

the still silence of the night, with sleeping London all 
around me, so powerless to help these poor fellows 
that I did not dare to interrupt their slumbers. All I 
could do was to turn sadly away — wiser, but more 
miserable, because of my utter helplessness in this 
awful extremity. After we had descended, Jim, in his 
matter-of-fact way, said : * Shall we go to another lay, 
sir ? There's lots more/ 

** I had seen enough, and wished no further revela- 
tions at that hour of the night. My future career was 
determined, though I had to wait and toil long years 
before my purpose was to any extent realized. I was 
a comparative stranger in London, myself; but our 
heavenly Father, who feeds the hungry ravens, heard 
the prayer of my heart, and gradually opened the way 
to accomplish the work I had set before me." 

From that night Doctor Barnardo never ceased to 
pray and plan and provide for the destitute and deserted 
children rescued from the ^' slums " of this great London 
— and even of the world, if they are sent to him. He 
began with one boy and secured lodgings for him. Soon 
another and another were added, until he had twenty- 
five provided for. This plan, however, was rather 
expensive; so the Doctor secured a small, rickety shanty 
in a narrow street, and with the help of his boys, 
scrubbed, cleaned and made it habitable. Notwith- 
standing the additions and improvements that were 
made continually to the building, this home soon 
proved too small for the three hundred and fifty lads 
who crowded thither from the courts, wharves and 
arches, where their only bed was brick or board, and 
their only covering the darkness of the foggy night. 
So large has his family become, that the original home 
has developed into the monumental pile of buildings 
in Stepney Causeway, devoted to the residence and 
education of the four hundred lads under its roof. 

The obliging '' cabby " stopped in front of what 



SAVING THE CHILDREN. 115 

appeared to be a row of tenement houses, connected 
by a long sign, informing the many weary pilgrims 
who could spell its meaning, that there is " No desti- 
tute boy or girl ever refused admission." Here are 
the central offices, the schoolrooms, workshops and 
dormitories. An adjoining house serves as a refuge 
for the reception of destitute children at all hours of 
the night. The recently finished addition contains, 
among other conveniences, a large swimming-bath, a 
well-equipped gymnasium and a photographic studio. 

The home is conducted on " The Moderate Bar- 
rack System,'' tempered as far as possible with the 
attractions of family life. The lads are dressed uni- 
formly in sailor suits, and for physical and disciplinary 
purposes are put through military drill twice daily. 
They are divided into two companies, which alternate 
between the schoolroom and workshop. One-half are 
under the schoolmaster, while the other half are under 
the trademaster. Every boy is taught a trade, upon 
which he can rely, if necessary, after he has left the 
institution. 

The " Trades Block " is a busy hive at all hours 
of the day. There are shops for carpentering, shoe- 
making, brushmaking and blacksmithing. There are 
departments for tailoring, baking and printing, each 
under an experienced master. Moreover, all the 
household work of the home is done economically by 
the boys themselves. The hands and heads of every- 
body about the premises are kept out of mischief by 
being kept full of work. The offices employ some 
seventy clerks, who are kept busy receiving parcels 
of clothing, packages of groceries and other useful 
articles, answering the immense correspondence, 
tabulating the receipts of contributions, and receiving 
applicants for admission. 

The Home in Stepney Causeway soon proved inade- 
quate to accommodate the children of all ages who 



116 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

daily clamored for admission. During a single month 
725 children sought admission; of whom, after careful 
investigation of the claims of each applicant, 202 of 
the most destitute were admitted. 

If the resolution to " turn no destitute child away " 
were to be maintained, something must be done to 
enlarge the capacity of the Institution. The ages of 
the inmates ranged from four to seventeen, and for 
obvious reasons it was necessary to separate the 
younger from the older lads. The whole matter was 
laid before the Lord. In answer to those prayers 
have sprung up the numerous institutions that afford 
ample accommodation and minute classification for all 
who come under Doctor Barnardo's care. A gentle- 
man came forward and offered a house and land in the 
island of Jersey. This was utilized as a nursing 
home for young boys from five to ten years of age, 
especially such as are of delicate constitution, where 
they can be nourished back to health under the care of 
a qualified physician, the wife of the superintendent. 
The Leopold House in Burdett road accommodates 
three hundred and fifty orphan boys, from ten to thir- 
teen years, whose entire time is occupied in their 
education. There are, moreover, about four hundred 
small children boarded out, at a cost of five shillings 
per week, in country districts, under very stringent 
conditions, which include the regular visitation by a 
medical officer and surprise visits by a special com- 
mittee, who make regular reports as to the condition 
of each little ward. Then there are the homes for 
poor lads who are partially able to support themselves, 
such as those organized into the shoe-black, rag-col- 
lecting and city-messenger brigades. The Youth's 
Labor House in Commercial road accommodates two 
hundred lads over seventeen years, who are too old 
for admission to any of the homes. These young 
men, found upon the streets homeless and friendless 



SAVING THE CHILDREN. 117 

and without the means of earning a liveUhood, are 
given employment at wood chopping, box making 
and bottling aerated waters. They are provided with 
a comfortable Christian home until situations can be 
obtained for them. The tiny infants find motherly 
care and cradle comforts at Babies' Castle, Hawkhurst, 
Kent. 

The latest addition to the institutions are the Chil- 
dren's Lodging Houses, for the reception of homeless 
boys and girls who earn a few pence daily, and who 
naturally gravitate into the criminal companionship of 
common lodging-houses. We have made no mention 
of the Broomyard Home at Worcester, with fifty 
boys in residence, for agricultural training, nor of the 
Working Lads' Hotel for the accommodation of former 
inmates of the homes, now earning their living in the 
metropolis, that they may still be kept under Christian 
influences. But we hasten on to view the girls' 
homes, for Doctor Barnardo's family would not be 
complete without the mollifying influence of sisters 
and daughters. 

If space would permit us to enter upon the history 
of this branch of rescue work, we would find it as 
interesting as that among the boys. In 1874 the site 
of the Village Home at lUford was a plowed field. 
To-day there stands fifty-two neat little cottages and 
five large households, accommodating one thousand 
girls. Each of these detached cottages contains a 
family of fifteen or twenty children, presided over by a 
" mother," who, in many cases, has given up a life of 
ease and a home of comforts to raise these children for 
God, looking to him only for her wages. It is a 
model little community of girls, rescued from waifdom 
and destitution, possessed of all the moral attractions, 
without any of the immoral influences, of an English 
country village, with school and church and hospital, 
nestling among the Essex hills. 



118 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

Sturge House in Bow road is occupied as a train- 
ing-home for older girls employed in the mills of the 
East End. Here they are fitted, during a residence 
of three months, to become general household serv- 
ants. The Factory Girls' Club and Institute is closely 
allied with, and supplementary to, Sturge House. 
Educational and sewing-classes are taught during the 
year by the deaconesses, who devote much time to this 
class of rough girls, whose home influences are neither 
elevating nor attractive, and who would seek congenial 
companionship upon the streets, if it were not provided 
for them elsewhere. There is also a Rescue Home for 
girls of tender years, who have been snatched from 
imminent moral danger. There are now twenty- 
four inmates, " some of whom have been literally 
kidnaped^ so as to save them from a future almost too 
horrible to contemplate." 

At the twenty-second anniversary of the institu- 
tions, held in Exeter Hall, before an audience that 
crowded every part of the large auditorium, the Right 
Honorable the Lord Polwarth in the chair. Doctor 
Barnardo, who was received with demonstrations of 
applause, related, among other interesting facts, the fol- 
lowing statistics : " The total number of children who 
passed through the homes during the past twelve 
months was 3381. In the same period there were 1284 
boys and 402 girls, of all ages, admitted to the homes, 
the youngest being seventeen days, the oldest nineteen 
years ; these being pronounced, after careful investi- 
gation, the most needy out of 7418 applicants. Of 
those admitted, 654 had been actually on the streets, 
' sleeping out,' or in common lodging-houses, or were 
rescued (often with great difficulty) from the custody 
of thieves, prostitutes and other persons of abandoned 
character." Most of these have been sought out by 
the Doctor, or some of his assistants, who prowl the 
streets late at night, with bull's-eye lantern in hand, 



SAVING THE CHILDREN, 119 

searching dry-goods boxes, sheds, wharves, wagons, 
and every out-of-the-way corner where it would be 
possible for a waif to conceal himself Others have 
been brought by the police, missionaries, neighbors 
and even parents, who could not provide for them. 
The following brief biographies of a few of these 
inmates, as recorded in the home's journals, will give 
a general idea of the character and needs of all : 

"J. G. — (14). Was found in the kitchen of a 
common lodging-house. His bright face attracted 
attention. Was invited to a supper given to street 
children at the Edinburgh Castle. Case afterwards 
investigated. Father dead five years. Mother living. 
No home, except the common lodging-house, for 
several years past. Begs about the streets. J. G. has 
been living for several years by his wits. Lately 
assisted a potman in dealing out beer to the workmen 
at the docks, frequently getting drunk himself; and, 
mere boy that he is, has, on more than one occasion, 
been charged with drunkenness at the police courts. 
Admitted for Canada." 

" S. S. — (9). Father dead. Mother, who was a 
match-box maker, also dead. S. frequented a common 
lodging-house in Whitechapel, in company with her 
aunt. The latter paid fourpence a night for her own 
and the child's lodging. They associated here with 
persons of evil life and vicious propensities. The 
aunt, herself a miserable street-walker, craved the 
child's admission to the home, ' to save her,' as she 
said, ' from ruin of body and soul.' Admitted." 

The following pitiful story of hardship and rescue, 
from Doctor Barnardo's pen, needs no comment : 

*'Esau and his sister, little Peg, aged eleven, had just 
entered our portals, acting on my previous decision to admit 
them from a consideration of their painful story. They were 
fatherless and they were friendless, a description of which 
the significance is not easily fathomed. But from their father 
they had doubtless inherited a legacy, which added pathos to 



120 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

their condition. Esau was a deformed cripple and poor Peg 
was in consumption ; and the seeds of both these evils had, 
doubtless, been sown by their drunken and dissipated parents, 
for their mother is also a drunkard and, ever since the children 
remembered, she had picked up a living (if it was worth the 
name) by her hawker's basket. Needless to tell, such a living 
for herself and her five children was of the barest. Both Esau 
and Peg, physically afflicted as they were, lived and slept with 
the others in an underground apartment upon an earthen floor, 
to which the light was admitted through a window divided in 
half by the street pavement. The mother maintained the family 
precariously on such of her earnings as escaped the public 
house ; but it was the " bread of bitterness " that the little ones 
ate. She was brutal in her conduct, and easily excited by drink 
to violence ; so that Esau and Peggy had to endure, in addition 
to their constitutional ailments, the more or less constant cruelty 
of one who should have been their most loving guardian on 
earth. 

*' I trust that for both of these little ones cruelty and privation 
are finally over ; for both are safe now in the shelter of our 
fold. Peggy is, alas, so far gone in consumption that I can 
only treat her henceforth as a hospital patient. But she will, at 
least, know the tender and sympathetic care of Christian love." 

Every issue of Night and Day, the monthly organ 
of the institutions, contains such sorrowful incidents. 

These homes are unique of their kind. They are 
open day and night to receive, without cost, destitute 
children of every age, of any nationality, of any creed, 
or none. If they are maimed, deaf, dumb, bHnd, or 
afflicted with any physical disorder, they are welcome, 
provided they are destitute, and carefully nursed in the 
hospital, or at the Seaside Convalescent Home. They 
are washed, clothed, fed and housed. They are edu- 
cated, mentally and morally, and imbued with spiritual 
truth. Already nearly thirteen thousand children have 
enjoyed these benefits. Upon their graduation, they 
have been provided with comfortable Christian homes 
and remunerative occupations, both in the United 
Kingdom and in the colonies. During the past year, no 
fewer than 406 have been emigrated to Canada, where 
there are three receiving-houses and an industrial farm 



SAVING THE CHILDREN, 121 

of nine thousand acres. Even then they are not lost 
sight of, as each child is visited at least once a year, 
when complaints or requests are carefully investigated. 

We have not, by any means, exhausted the list of 
institutions embraced in the catalogue of " Doctor 
Barnardo's Homes." Efforts in behalf of the children 
revealed the sad plight of their parents, whose godless 
lives required a decisively aggressive effort to bring the 
Gospel to bear upon them. As early as 1868, Doctor 
Barnardo began to gather together poor families in a 
house for religious instruction. These meetings were 
so well attended that the largest rooms in the court or 
street were secured ; and these, again, gave way to a 
hall, which in turn multiplied into several missions, 
where the neighbors assembled and were addressed by 
Christian helpers of all denominations. Doctor Bar- 
nardo declares " it would be impossible to give even 
the briefest record of cases won, through the preached 
Gospel, from the ranks of open infidelity, licentious- 
ness and drunkenness, or to recount the briefest 
epitomes of the life stories of persons who, from having 
been improvident, idle, brutal or indifferent, became, 
through the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit 
with the preached Word, the very antipodes of all 
this, the reality of the change being so manifest that 
none could gainsay, while it seemed to be as perma- 
nent as it was thorough." 

This success encouraged the erection of a large 
tent, between the parishes of Stepney and Limehouse, 
capable of seating about three thousand people. 
Earnest evangelists were secured to address the 
crowds there assembled. Tens of thousands of the 
poor toilers of London heard the Gospel, thousands 
signed the pledge, and very many were truly con- 
verted to God. The effect of these summer gatherings 
soon told upon the neighborhood. The people began 
to take a deep interest in religious truth, and the public 



122 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

houses began to lose their customers. No better testi- 
mony could be given to the genuineness of the results 
than the fact that five public houses in the immediate 
neighborhood were forced to close their business. One 
of these was the large gin palace within fifty yards of 
the tent, known as the '* Edinburgh Castle," a place 
notorious for the demoralizing entertainments held in a 
hall in the rear of the saloon. Notwithstanding every 
effort to resist the inevitable, by numerous attractions 
and low admission fees, the business fell off, week by 
week, until at last it was advertised at auction sale. 
Here was an unlooked-for opportunity to secure winter 
quarters for the tent work, that must close with the 
warm weather. The appeals made to the Christian 
public were readily responded to, and the premises 
were purchased by Doctor Barnardo for ;^4200. It 
was soon transformed from a synagogue of Satan into 
a church of Christ, now known far and wide as the 
" People's Church.*' The music hall became the mis- 
sion hall and the gin palace became the coffee palace, 
the first of its kind established in the United Kingdom. 
In 1873 the premises were opened by Lord Shafts- 
bury, in the presence of a great concourse of working 
people, who welcomed the innovation with demon- 
strations of enthusiasm. The site is admirably 
adapted for this mission. Situated upon a corner, with 
large frontage, facing four streets that converge into 
an area in front, the '' Edinburgh Castle " presents an 
attractive appearance. The old oval sign still swings 
from the high post on the corner, but bearing a dif- 
ferent inscription than of yore. The passer-by now 
reads thereon, in conspicuous letters, these startling 
words : " No drunkard shall enter the kingdom of 
Heaven." At night, when the large, frosted, plate-glass 
windows are illumined by twelve brass gas lamps, it is 
like a beacon fire, attracting the weary pilgrim for 
rest and refreshment to a hospitable shore. We notice 



SAVING THE CHILDREN. 123 

the absence of those seedy and shabby loafers that 
lounge about the public houses. There is wanting that 
line of wretched women and starved children, who 
come and go with pots and kettles of devil-brewed 
decoctions. There are pitchers and kettles, but they 
steam with tea, coffee and cocoa for the dinners of the 
hard-worked families. 

Within the coffee room everything is inviting. 
The floors are scrubbed to whiteness ; the marble-top 
tables are polished as clean as a plate ; the large nickel 
and brass urns, steaming with inviting beverages, re- 
flect your face like a mirror. There are little round 
tables for two, larger ones for four, and secluded com- 
partments where a company of friends can enjoy the 
privacy of their own room. The daily newspapers and 
magazines are on the tables. The walls are adorned 
with Scriptural mottoes, in attractive designs, and 
notices of the Building Societies, Total Abstinence 
Union and Christian Benefit Club. 

Across a conspicuous beam above the counter, 
staring every customer in the eye, is an invitation to 
the " religious and social meetings, held every evening 
at eight o'clock." What a transformation has taken 
place! Where riot and revelry held nightly carnival, 
prayer and praise fill the rooms. Where men and 
women spent their hard-earned wages for " that which 
satisfieth not," they now make deposits to their own 
credit in the penny banks, for the improvement of 
themselves and their children. 

The former concert hall in the rear has been fitted 
up to accommodate three thousand people. There are 
three services every Sabbath — a sermon in the morn- 
ing, a service of song in the afternoon, and in the even- 
ing, when the building is crowded, a special evan- 
gelistic meeting for adults and children. During the 
past year, there were held 599 general meetings in this 
hall. Among other agencies connected with the 



124 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

" People's Church," are a tract department, educational 
classes, benevolent agency, district visitation, sewing- 
school, a cabmen's shelter, a well-equipped gymnasium 
and St. Ann's Gospel Hall, an adjoining iron building, 
seating six hundred, for children's services and over- 
flow meetings. The free meals given to particular 
classes, whom it is desirous of influencing to the mis- 
sion services, are a unique feature of the work. Last 
year, a single supper to waifs and strays " furnished 
one hundred destitute children to the homes." Other 
meals have numbered among the guests factory girls, 
aged poor, unemployed laborers, dockmen, blind 
people, thieves, rogues and vagabonds. 

Another aggressive evangelistic agency centres 
around the Deaconess' House, where reside twenty 
consecrated women, who, besides teaching classes, 
nursing in the homes and conducting numerous meet- 
ings among mothers and children, have made twenty 
thousand visits to the homes of the poor, inquiring 
carefully into their wants and distributing necessary 
aid. They also manage the new mission hall in Carr 
street, known as Dorcas House, and render valuable 
aid at the medical mission in Shadwell, which is under 
the superintendence of a deaconess who is a qualified 
physician. 

Such is a brief resume of the thirty-five institutions 
comprising " The East End Juvenile Mission, whose in- 
fluence succors the poorest of London's population in the 
hour of their greatest need. Twenty of these deal directly 
with the maintenance and training of destitute chil- 
dren ; the remaining fifteen have to do with general 
evangelistic mission work. These two branches of the 
service extend their protecting arms beneath the 
perishing babe and man. The neglected child, wan- 
dering friendless in the streets, the reckless youth, 
drifting into a life of crime, the godless aged, nearing 
the end of a Christless life, are sought out and taught 



SAVING THE CHILDREN, 125 

to walk in that path that " shineth more and more unto 
the perfect day." This is the ultimate aim of the 
agencies connected with the mission — the "salvation of 
every soul that comes within range of its influence. 
Hence the confidence and support rendered it from 
all parts of the world and all branches of the Christian 
church. 

During the past year, there were received 76,758 
money donations, over half of which were in sums of 
£\ or under, containing over ;^98,6o3 4s. id., and if 
we add thereto ;^56i8 from other sources, we have 
the unprecedented income oi £\o\;i2\ as the offerings 
for a single year. Besides this there were received a 
numberless variety of miscellaneous jewelry, bric-a- 
brac, precious stones, family plate, paintings, furniture 
and other articles of every size, shape and description. 
Nothing offered is ever rejected. Everything possible 
is utilized, and the balance is sold for the benefit of the 
homes. And yet, all this income is barely sufficient 
to maintain a family of three thousand boys and girls, 
whose daily expenses are never less than £\^o^ in 
addition to the cost of the other beneficent agencies. 




CHAPTER X. 
MILDMAY'S MISSION WORK. 

IV/riLDMAY is the simple announcement that 
-^^-*- meets our eye upon alighting from the train at 
a station in North London. That name, at home and 
abroad, has been a harbinger of temporal and spiritual 
blessings to many weary, tempted souls. Verily, her 
** line is gone out through all the earth, and her words 
to the ends of the world." But hearing of Mildmay is 
not visiting it ; and visiting is not seeing it ; and seeing 
is not knowing it. To know Mildmay and its work 
would be to spend months in the midst of its throb- 
bing, spiritual life, and to trace its ramifying streams 
from their source to the million lives touched by 
their healing influences. All that we propose is a brief 
sketch of a visit to the branches of this encyclopedic 
mission, that ministers to the bodies and souls of the 
needy inhabitants of the metropolis. 

As we wend our way along Mildmay Park road 
in the indicated direction of the Conference Hall, we 
look in vain for the fabrication of our imagination — a 
large building of pretentious architecture, standing 
prominently upon the corner of a spacious thorough- 
fare. Not so is Mildmay situated. Hidden behind a 
row of ordinary dwelling-houses, back from the noise 
of the street, in the middle of an open, airy space of 
several acres, severe in its simplicity, stands the Con- 
ference Hall. The building is more imposing once 
you are within. No money has been spent upon it 
for mere show ; everything is adapted for work. The 
lighting, ventilating, and acoustic properties are per- 
fect. Thirty-five hundred people can be comfortably 



MILDMA Y'S MISSION WORK. 127 

accommodated therein. Every -bit of space is utilized 
for offices, committee rooms, schoolrooms and dining- 
rooms, where thirty or forty tea meetings, character- 
istic of the social life of Mildmay organizations, are 
held every year. In the grounds are the superintend- 
ent's residence, the hospital, deaconess' house, trained- 
nurses' home, and other smaller buildings used for 
various meetings. The attractive and spacious grounds 
are also utilized for the Master's service. They are 
frequently thrown open io the poor children of the 
East End, the adult Jews and others, who are brought 
up from the missions to enjoy a treat upon the green. 
The annual conference will be uppermost in the 
minds of visitors to Mildmay, where, in midsummer, 
Christian workers from fields far and near are gathered 
for consultation and communion. Besides numerous 
small gatherings in tents, rooms and the open air, 
three crowded meetings are held each day in the large 
hall, where special addresses are made upon interesting 
subjects relating to the kingdom of Christ. These 
spiritual conferences have been growing, both in 
interest and members, ever since their inauguration in 
1856, when the Rev. W. Pennefather, whose saintly 
character, missionary zeal and Christian charity have 
proved a benediction to many, called the first confer- 
ence at Barnet. To experience the quickening influ- 
ences of the Mildmay conference, one must join in the 
worship of the devout company assembled, sit at the 
sacrament table with three thousand followers of the 
Lord Jesus, join in the grand swell of praise that fills 
the vast auditorium, feel the spirit of prayer that 
breathes through all the meetings, hear the stirring 
speeches, glowing testimonies and encouraging reports 
presented by zealous servants from the Lord's vine- 
yard in many lands — in a word, one must live in the 
spiritual atmosphere of the Mildmay conference, if one 
is to know the heavenly joy and peace of the commu- 
nion of saints. 



128 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

This annual gathering, with its far-reaching influ- 
ences, represents one only of the many branches of 
consecrated activity that radiate from this centre of 
aggressive mission work. Two popular services are 
held in the Conference Hall every Sabbath, when large 
congregations of working people assemble. The 
Gospel is presented by persuasive speakers, popular 
Gospel hymns are sung, and the entire service is made 
very attractive. 

A half hour before the Services, a band of earnest 
men and women conduct an open-air meeting on the 
neighboring green, and bring the people gathered 
there to the hall. Occasional Sabbath services are also 
held for the deaf and dumb. Unlike many of our 
churches, which " shut up shop " during the week, the 
doors of Mildmay are never closed. The Conference 
Hall is placed at the disposal of religious societies of 
all denominations with whose work Mildmay is in 
sympathy. Home and foreign missions, temperance 
and Christian association gatherings and numerous 
anniversaries, are annually held here. Besides these 
large assemblies in the chapel, smaller meetings are 
nightly held in the adjoining halls and rooms. Four 
hundred workingmen meet in the educational classes 
three nights every week, for six months of the year. 
There are twelve weekly Bible classes for servants, 
working people, young women and boys and girls of 
the neighborhood. Moreover, Bible readings in En- 
glish and German, courses of lectures, workers' prayer 
union, special service, mothers' meetings and sewing- 
classes find their place in its scheme of evangelization. 

The work of Mildmay Mission, while seeking to 
reach every class of the community who are living 
without God and without hope, is especially directed 
toward the evangelization of God's ancient people, the 
Israelites. Besides the conferences in their behalf, and 
the distribution of 100,000 copies of Salkinson's 



MILDMA Y'S MISSION WORK, 129 

Hebrew Testament and other literature, several mission 
halls, with missionaries, dispensaries, schools and 
other agencies attached, are supported for bringing the 
Jews under the influence of the Gospel of Christ. Of 
the three thousand converted Hebrews in London, not 
a few look to Mildmay as their spiritual instructor. 
Many, both at home and abroad, were taught in the 
schools, baptized at the chapel, defended, housed, 
clothed and instructed in the Bethnal Green Home, 
until persecution ceased or employment was secured 
for them. 

Second only to the influence of the Conference 
Hall meetings is the work of the Mildmay deaconesses. 
These Christian ladies, of all ranks of life, from the 
daughter of the aristocrat to the orphan of the seam- 
stress (many of wealth, education and refinement), 
wearied with the glittering bauble of worldly pleasure 
and the hollow echo of flattering society, have devoted 
their lives to the service of the King. The manner of 
their reception into this work is as follows : 

" Fresh candidates, applying for admission to the deaconess 
work, and judged in any degree suitable by Mrs. Pennefather, 
in point of health, gifts, etc., are sent for one month, ' on trial,* 
to the Probation House. At the month's end, if accepted, the 
elder candidates are received into the Centre House, while the 
younger ones are drafted onto the Training Home. Here they 
remain for a year, eighteen months or two years, as may seem 
desirable, being trained in the practical knowledge of all branches 
of domestic management — cooking, laundry work, bookkeeping, 
cutting out clothing, etc. When the period, long or short, of 
training has expired, the workers are passed on to the Centre 
House at Mildmay, or to the South Deaconess House at Brixton, 
and at once take their place in the ranks, commencing work at 
one or other of the outlying missions. This South London 
Home receives twenty workers, in addition to the fifty at the 
Mildmay House." 

What a happy, consecrated family occupies this 
busy hive known as the Deaconess' House. Its fur- 
nishing is plain, but comfortable. The large, airy, 



130 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

well-lighted sitting-room is hung with curtains, sup- 
plied with numerous easy chairs and sofas, decorated 
with pictures, illuminations and flowers, mostly the 
handiwork of the occupants themselves. This makes 
the very simplicity of the home beautiful in all parts of 
the building. Thither the deaconesses go forth every 
morning to their labor of love among the most dis- 
tressing scenes of low London life, and hither they 
return every night for that refreshment and Christian 
companionship which alone sustain their temporal and 
spiritual strength. 

In the basement of the home is the invalid's kitchen, 
where are prepared the well-cooked portions of food 
and tempting, dainty dishes for the sick in the neigh- 
borhood, who would not otherwise receive proper 
nourishment. An adjoining room is occupied by the 
Flower Mission committee, who daily make up 
numerous bouquets, with a striking Scriptural text 
attached, for distribution during their visits to the hos- 
pitals, infirmaries and sick people of the neighborhood. 
During the past summer, the deaconesses have dis- 
tributed thirty-eight thousand of these silent messen- 
gers, breathing such tokens of God's love and care to 
as many weary sufferers, whose only breath of sum- 
mer is in the fragrant flowers and the cheerful words 
accompanying them. Who can estimate the influence 
of these angels of mercy, as they go their daily rounds 
from cot to cot, relieving the painful occupants with 
a smile of sympathy, a word of promise or a song of 
praise, as their sweet voices break upon the stillness of 
the sick ward in the trustful hymn, '' Rock of Ages, 
Cleft for Me," or " Just as I Am, Without One Plea." 

The following incident, illustrating their daily ex- 
periences, is narrated by one of these preachers of 
righteousness, or " flower women," as the deaconesses 
are called by the patients : 

" On entering one of the wards, my attention was called to a 
poor man in an almost dying state, who was passing into 



MILDMA Y'S MISSION WORK, 131 

eternity quite unprepared for the great change. A Christian 
man near said of him : ' He is always swearing ; his language 
is so dreadful it makes me tremble in my bed to hear him.' As 
I drew near, his eyes were closed, and he was moaning as if in 
great pain. I scarcely liked to speak, fearing to provoke an 
outburst, and I could not find what seemed a suitable text ; so, 
without a word, I put a bunch of flowers in his hand. To my 
surprise, he grasped them eagerly, and held them close to his 
face, repeating over and over again : ' Beautiful flowers, beau- 
tiful flowers !' I found that he knew he was dying. He said 
he was sorry for his sins, and when I asked if I should pray with 
him, he said : 'Yes; do. Sit there.' His moaning ceased, and 
he repeated after me every word I said. As I arose, he lifted 
his eyes for the first time to my face, and there was a look in 
them that made me ask, before I moved away, * Will you trust 
Jesus to save you?' 'Yes,' he answered, 'I will.* He lived 
three days after that, and his neighbor told me he died very 
peacefully. ' I never heard him say a bad word after you spoke 
to him.' " 

The same visitor continues : 

" In the great workhouse infirmaries, where, besides the 
hundreds of temporary cases, so many of our poor linger out 
weary years of helplessness or suffering, there is absolutely no 
limit, except that of time or strength, to the wide opportunities 
of usefulness opened by this loving ministry. It is scarcely too 
much to say that every variety of character and circumstance 
may be found in these wards. From the University man, with 
his wrecked life, to the pauper imbecile, who never had a 
chance to rise ; from the gentle, refined and patient Christian, 
to the reckless would-be suicide, or the half-crazed victim of 
some brutal wrong ; wandering sinners, friendless orphans, 
penniless, homeless convalescents — are standing in need of 
womanly sympathy and kindly effort ; and many are ready to 
meet it with touching gratitude and honest endeavor. There is 
so much outcome from the Mildmay Flower Mission, in various 
directions, that we can imagine no limit to its blessed results." 

During the winter months, the deaconesses are en- 
gaged teaching the forty-nine classes of the men's 
night school. The instruction includes arithmetic, 
geography, geometry, freehand drawing and short- 
hand. The Bible is used as a text-book two nights, 
and a Scriptural address is given on the third. The 
school is closed every night with prayer and praise. 



132 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

There is a restaurant where the men, at small cost, 
are furnished tea, coffee and luncheon, and also a 
lending library for the use of the scholars, many ol 
whom are drafted into the Sabbath afternoon Bible 
classes. The deaconesses also conduct weekly Bible 
classes, and direct the Central Dorcas Society, which 
employs nearly a hundred poor women. Two deacon- 
esses, by pen and pencil, realize upwards of ;^iooo 
yearly from the sale of their artistically illuminated 
text-cards. 

The daily work of the deaconesses lies among the 
twenty or more Mildmay missions, located in various 
parts of London's poorest and most densely populated 
districts. This work began during the cholera visita- 
tion in 1866, and has continued ever since. To cata- 
logue even the various benevolent efforts and 
evangelistic agencies conducted by the deaconesses 
at these mission stations would require too much 
space. An outline of the work at Bethnal Green 
branch will illustrate the methods used at the other 
missions, although all do not have the same equipment, 
nor do all work in the same groove. Each mission 
adapts itself to its environment, using the best means to 
reach the wants of the people. 

In the rear of Shoreditch High street, the poorest 
part of the populous parish of Bethnal Green, the 
Mildmay Mission pitched its tent or, rather, erected 
substantial mission buildings. The neighborhood 
abounds in wretchedness. Here the sweating system 
has found abundant material for immolation. The 
Mildmay deaconesses can recount grinding poverty 
that would melt the stoutest heart. Here is a woman 
struggling to support her family on the penny re- 
ceived for every thirty doll's arms she can make. A 
widow with three children receives four pence half 
penny for a thousand paper bags ; while still another 
earns two pence half penny for a gross of match boxes. 



MILDMA Y'S MISSION WORK. 133 

With such remuneration for labor we are not sur- 
prised that the visitors meet starvation and rags at 
every turn. As for the morality of this community, 
we will let one of the Mildmay nurses relate her ex- 
perience the first night she spent at Bethnal Green 
Mission : 

" I am sorry to say the noise around our little home of love 
(the hospital) is dreadful — men fighting, women screaming and 
children crying. I have been compelled to put some cotton 
wool in the ears of the patients, that they may get some quiet. 
The sin and misery of Bethnal Green are like that of any 
heathen land. There has just been a ring at the doorbell — 
men demanding admittance at 2.30 a. m., and threatening to 
burst the door open. They went off quietly, however, one 
saying to the other, who was using bad language : * 'Tis no use 
talking to the sister like that — come on.' 

" Sad, too, it is to think of the thousands of little children 
growing up somehow and anyhow in the midst of such scenes 
and habits. What a world of evil is revealed, for instance, in 
the constant cry of a little girl, only two and a half years old, 
just brought into the hospital, ill with bronchitis, ' Annie wants 
some beer !' When given milk, the cry is louder, ' Beer, beer !' 
Or another scene, where a tipsy mother is sitting by the cot of 
her dying child, and the little girl's cry is, 'Give me the gin- 
bottle for a drink, mother !' It is truly awful.'* 

The working staff of the mission hospital, medical 
mission and general mission work, consists of a super- 
intending physician, a resident doctor, a matron, four 
nurses, two dispensers, five deaconesses and mission- 
hall helpers, all of the staff, except the physicians, being 
from the deaconesses' house. 

During the past year at the hospital there were 
392 indoor patients and 5961 out patients, and over 
twelve thousand patients attended the dispensary; 
while the physicians visited 4324 and the deaconesses 
2970 patients in their homes. This treatment repre- 
sents cases sent from the various Mildmay mission 
stations. It is needless to say that in all their visits 
the sickness of the soul, as well as that of the body, is 
ministered unto ; and each patient is lovingly pointed 



134 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

to the Great Physician, who alone can heal. The 
Gospel is kept prominently before the patients. 
Public addresses are given to the out patients in the 
hall on Tuesdays and Thursdays ; tracts that are sure 
to be read are wrapped up with their medicines, and 
often a quiet word is spoken individually to them. 
There is a service held in the hospital every Sabbath, 
conducted by the physician ; and, before the daily sur- 
gical operations are performed, a portion of Scripture 
is expounded, and prayer is offered in behalf of the 
sufferers. 

We might state just here, by way of parenthesis, 
that the same blessed work for the bodies and souls of 
the poor is being carried on by the same agency at 
the Memorial Hospital, Mildmay, and at the medical 
missions at Walworth and Old Ford ; while the 
Ussalton Convalescent Home at Barnet has received 
four hundred and fifty invalids from the hospitals and 
mission districts, who have been saved, body and soul, 
by the pure air, medical attendance and Gospel truth 
administered there. 

The general mission work in Bethnal Green, re- 
sembling that of the other districts, is carried on in a 
large building in Church street near the hospital. 
There are held Sabbath-morning Bible classes, after- 
noon Sabbath School, children's service and evening 
Gospel service. Monday afternoon about sixty 
mothers meet, who are encouraged in habits of thrift 
and cleanliness, and are helped by coal and clothing 
clubs. In the evening of the same day a temperance 
meeting is held with an average attendance of one 
hundred and twenty, at which exhibitions, choir sing- 
ing and recitations furnish a pleasant antidote to the 
public-house attractions. A little boys' class and a 
sewing-class for girls meet on Tuesday evening. On 
Wednesday afternoon a women's reading-class and a 
Bible class at night are held. In fact every night in 



MILDMA Y'S MISSION WORK, 135 

the week is taken up with one or more useful meet- 
ings. Four nights are occupied with social meetings 
for youths and classes for men. Twice a week warm 
dinners are eagerly sought by the hungry waifs that 
dwell in the neighboring courts and alleys. There is 
a Men's Institute, with the daily papers, games, etc., 
and a coffee bar in the basement. There is also a 
similar institute for the lads. The men's lodging- 
house, fitted up with home comforts (where no intoxi- 
cating drinks can be had, and where no bad language 
is tolerated), has sheltered 6530 homeless men, each 
of whom paid four pence per night for the accommo- 
dation. The soup kitchen distributes about four 
hundred pints of soup weekly, besides providing 
occasional teas, dinners and suppers for the hungry 
applicants. 

All this temporal provision in behalf of the 
neglected classes, who are a constant menace to 
society, proves to be a good introduction for the 
deaconesses, who day by day visit from house to 
house among the tenements and rookeries that line the 
narrow streets. However harshly these rough people 
treat the ''parson," no door is ever shut against the 
**neat ladies" from the mission, who can be seen 
daily in their becoming dress, unmolested, among the 
wicked dwellers of these wretched rooms, encouraging, 
teaching and sympathizing with them, nursing them 
during sickness with the love and patience of a sister, 
praying and ministering to their spiritual necessities, 
and bringing them out to the mission services with 
that sweet, persuasive power that is irresistible even 
by these uncouth inhabitants of the slums. 

A work akin to the deaconesses, and yet distinct 
from it, is that of the " Nursing Sisters." Their house 
adjoins the Conference Hall at Mildmay, and affords 
accommodation for one hundred nurses and probation- 
ers, who make it their home when off duty. " All of 



136 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

these are professional nurses, having received thorough 
hospital training, and are in perpetual demand for 
nursing in private families." During the past year 
they have attended 549 cases. One nurse resides con- 
stantly in the home, and devotes her time nursing the 
sick poor of Mildmay, among whom she makes two 
thousand visits in a single year. The Mildmay and 
Jaffa Hospitals, the Doncaster General Infirmary, the 
Nurses' Institute at Malta, and several smaller institu- 
tions, draw their nurses from here. These Christian 
women thus carry the "Truth'' to rich and poor, and 
teach them by practical love and patience the influence 
of Christ over the lives of his followers. 

Another very important enterprise, whose success 
requires special mention, is the rescue work carried on 
in another Mildmay mission in South London. This 
effort is the outgrowth of necessity. It forced itselt 
upon the two deaconesses, whose mission attracted 
many of the unfortunate women of the neighborhood. 
One night in the week was free from any meetings, 
and this they determined to devote especially to help- 
ing these fallen sisters. They provided an attractive 
card in pink and gold, bearing the following invita- 
tion : " If you want to find a friend and wish to begin 
a new life, come to the mission room on Wednesday 
evenings between seven and nine. A cup of tea and 
a kind welcome awaits you. God says, 'Why will 
ye die ? Turn, live ye.' " These invitations brought 
many inquiring ones to the mission. The adjoining 
premises were secured as the work developed, and 
fitted up as a home. You would never suspect that 
such a work was being done in these humble build- 
ings. The entrance to the mission premises is through 
an entry about four feet wide, between two shops. A 
plain board bearing the inscription, " The Haven " 
and " God is Love," projects over the doorway. The 
walls along the steep flight of stairs are adorned with 



MILDMA Y'S MISSION WORK, 137 

texts of Scripture. At the top a passage to the left 
leads to the hall of the mission, formerly the dancing- 
hall of a lo>v restaurant, the rafters of which are 
decorated with Scriptural texts. The Rescue Home 
reveals upon its face the former character of the place, 
which was used as a warehouse. The one large room 
has been partitioned off into a number of smaller 
rooms, which serve as matron's room, sitting-room, 
kitchen and a large one for the girls' sleeping-room, 
occupied by six beds, with a smaller anteroom with 
three beds, for different characters of the same class of 
girls. Up another flight of stairs in the loft, sleeping- 
apartments have been fitted up for the deaconesses. 
For although their comfortable rooms at the Mildmay 
Home invite them every night, one of them usually 
stays here in order to be on hand for necessitous cases 
that present themselves. In these humble, hidden and 
hampered quarters, pervaded with the strong odor 
from the adjoining stables, these two " daughters of 
the King," with the matron, herself rescued from a 
life of sin, welcome day and night these penitent 
wanderers to food, fire and shelter. They nurse them 
until they are strong ; seek employment for them ; 
furnish them a respectable outfit, and give them a 
chance to regain their lost character. The influence 
of such pure and holy lives exercises a wonderful 
influence over the rescued women. Of the hundreds 
that have passed under the training and care of the 
deaconesses, not five per cent, fall back into their old 
ways again. During the year 217 girls and women 
have been received, some requiring only temporary 
shelter, but by far the larger number being cases of 
rescue from a life of shame. Forty have been sent, 
after a period of testing, to other homes, fifty-six 
restored to friends, placed in situations or sent abroad, 
and all lovingly directed to the Saviour. 

Another house has been opened in connection with 
this mission, where women of various ages and classes, 



138 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

rescued from sin or struggling with the temptation to 
drink or other vice, are watched over and shielded 
till they can pass out safely to ordinary life. Remarka- 
ble blessing has rested on both branches of this work. 

We must include, moreover, in the list of Mild- 
may's institutions, the Training Home at "The Wil- 
lows,*' where young women are prepared for home and 
foreign mission work, and the Invalid's Home, which 
receives nine women on payment. The Orphanage fos- 
ters a happy family of thirty-six girls. The Servants* 
Home has sheltered 229 applicants and the registry 
has secured situations for 973. The Cabmen's Mis- 
sion at Cross street employs a missionary who makes 
yearly five thousand visits among the men of his dis- 
trict. He also holds 160 meetings and conducts a 
Band of Hope and a penny bank for their children. 
Nor can we omit mention of the Ball Pond Mission 
with its Scripture reader and various agencies, and, 
though far removed from London, the medical mission 
and hospital at Jaffa. 

The sole aim of Mildmay and its work is to bring 
the knov/ledge of Christ and his salvation to every 
soul it comes in contact with. So that whether meet- 
ings are held in the hall or classes taught in the 
schools, whether the deaconesses visit the hovels of 
the poor or a sister nurses in the families of the rich, 
all work for the one object — the salvation of souls. 
And in this hope they labor not in vain. 




CHAPTER XI. 
THE GOSPEL AMONG OUTCASTS. 

T^HE Christian Community is literally the pastor of 
^ the poor, the lame, the halt and the blind. It 
claims to be the oldest missionary society in London, 
dating its origin to the Huguenot refugees, who, in 
1685, organized for aggressive evangelistic work dur- 
ing those trying times of persecution and profligacy. 
It numbers among its members many of the illustrious 
leaders of the Protestant church, among whom may 
be mentioned John Wesley, who reorganized the 
society and gave it a fresh impetus at the beginning of 
the second century of its history. 

The field of its operation lies principally in Stepney 
and Spitalfields — two of the poorest and most populous 
parishes in the East End. The society has four hun- 
dred agents who have volunteered, from all branches 
of the Christian church, to go forth and proclaim 
the Gospel to the outcasts of society in workhouses, 
infirmaries, casual wards and lodging-houses — the 
temporary abodes of the " flotsam and jetsam " of 
this great city's population. 

The practical work among this class of fallen 
humanity may best be illustrated by a personal visit 
to a " common '' lodging-house. The adjective dis- 
tinguishes this grade of houses from that occupied by 
the more respectable members of the poorer classes of 
society. 

There are four bands of Christian workers dele- 
gated to visit regularly the wretched inmates of these 
strange abodes. The visitors meet every Sabbath 
afternoon at the mission hall in Thrawl street, located 



140 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

in the very midst of the congeries of low lodging- 
houses. After a short season of prayer for the Divine 
blessing upon their efforts, the four companies separate 
to their several assigned stations. 

In company with one of these bands, composed of 
several Christian men and women, we receive our first 
impression of this branch of mission work. We enter 
the door of a gloomy tenement, which bears a weather- 
beaten signboard, whose faded letters require close 
study before one can decipher the elliptic sentence, 
" Lodging House. Beds four pence per night." We 
pass in the hall a box-like office, where the deput}^ sits 
to receive the fee of every lodger, before he can enjoy 
the hospitality of the establishment. He recognizes 
our presence with a careless nod and a cynical smile, 
expressive more of his skepticism at the success of 
our undertaking, than of welcome to the abode of his 
guests. Descending twenty rickety steps into the 
cellar, we find ourselves in the '* kitchen." We scrupu- 
lously obey the warning not to lean against the walls, 
or touch any article of furniture, lest we should carry 
home with us tenacious and uncongenial companions. 
The leader utilizes his umbrella, stuck through a knot 
hole in the floor, as a hat rack. It requires several 
minutes to become accustomed to the apartment 
before we can distinguish the various objects moving 
through the cloud of steam that encircles the room. 

What a strange sight meets our astonished gaze ! 
There are twenty or more men and several lads in the 
room, which is dimly lighted, badly ventilated and 
nauseating with unsavory odors. The occupants 
seem to be busy at something, but we cannot tell just 
what. We can liken it to nothing but the scene ol 
frightened life one sees when a moss-grown stone is 
turned over in the field, and the light of day is let in on 
the hidden family beneath. At first there is a moment's 
silence, until the occupants satisfy themselves of the 



THE GOSPEL AMONG OUTCASTS. 141 

identity of the intruders. Then they resume their 
boisterous business. Some are washing their faces, 
others their clothes; some are cooking their food, 
others are mending their garments ; two men are 
struggling over a basin, while a group is trying to 
settle some disputed right. There is much talking 
and laughing among both drunk and sober occupants, 
if there be any of the latter among them. A few are 
seated quietly upon the benches, puffing rank-smelling 
pipes. Scattered around the floor are numerous inde- 
scribable cooking utensils, and hanging about the 
walls and benches are garments dripping from the 
wash. A huge coke fire is blazing in a red-hot range, 
and numerous tin plates with fish bones, crusts and 
porridge, lie on the table. Some of the lodgers are cook- 
ing over a scorching fire their frugal meal, consisting 
of a ''ha' p'orth" of tea, a penny's worth of bread, and 
a small herring, or piece of bacon. The lodgers seem 
to have all things in common. They cook at the same 
fire, use the same utensils, eat from the same plates 
and share the same sleeping-apartment. This may 
account for the practical sympathy that exists among 
them. They will share their bread with a hungry 
lodger, gently nurse a sick companion and contribute 
their pennies to bury a fellow-unfortunate. 

The common lodging-houses of to-day are a great 
improvement upon those of former times, when these 
unregistered places were under no police surveillance, 
and men, women and children were huddled promis- 
cuously together, like cattle in a pen, without the least 
regard for health, physical or moral. Even now, with 
legislative restrictions, these houses are schools of 
crime, where many a youth, driven by poverty, is forced 
into the society of hardened criminals. 

This congregation of congenial souls represents the 
last stratum, almost, of society — but one remove from 
pauperism. So long as they can beg, steal or earn the 



142 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

necessary pence to pay for a " doss " in a low lodging- 
house, they can assert their liberty and protest against 
the compulsory regimen of the casual ward and the 
workhouse. 

There are nine hundred and sixty such houses in 
London, sheltering forty thousand persons, young and 
old, whose poverty is abject, whose employment is 
mendicancy, who are homeless, friendless and helpless, 
" without God and without hope in the world.'* There 
are a few among them who occasionally find employ- 
ment of the poorest grade, such as casual dock 
laborers, "costers," peddlers of the lowest class, cross- 
ing sweepers or newspaper venders ; but the majority 
are idlers, tramps, mendicants, all more or less the 
victims of vice and domineered by the demon of rum. 
Many of these lodgers, however, have seen better days. 
Among them are men of genius, whose brilliant intel- 
lects might have illumed the best society had not 
society itself shattered the lamp so much admired. 
On one bench in a common lodging-house entered 
one day by a city missionary, there sat side by side 
five men. One had been an organist in a Midland 
cathederal, two had held diplomas from the Royal 
College of Surgeons, one had been a Wesleyan minis- 
ter and the fifth had pleaded at the bar of a Lon- 
don police court. A prominent clergyman gives 
the following list of lodgers that passed through 
one house : " A paymaster in the Royal navy, a 
Cambridge scholar, a master of hounds (who once 
inherited a fortune), a physician's son (himself a doctor), 
a Sunday-school superintendent, a member of the 
stock exchange, a clergyman who had taken high 
honors, the brother of the vicar of a large London 
parish and a brother of a scholar of high reputation." 

Whether there are any such "fallen stars " in the 
kitchen during our visit, we cannot say, but we know 
they are as wretched a company as we met anywhere 



THE GOSPEL AMONG OUTCASTS, 143 

in London. They soon recognize our mission, and 
receive the hymn books, at the request of the leader, 
" to help sing a few hymns." They readily comply 
with the appeal for silence. They take their places on 
the benches, and show every respect to the " preacher/* 
apparently enjoying this weekly treat in their monoto- 
nous lives. The service occupies a half hour, con- 
sisting of several hymns, a short prayer, an exposition 
of the Scriptures read, an exhortation by a brother 
and a solo by one of the lady visitors. At the con- 
clusion of the service a little time is spent conversing 
with the men and listening to their pleas for help. All 
are urged to come to the service at night in the mis- 
sion hall, where the workers will gladly meet any who 
desire to abandon their present vagrant life for one of 
industry and sobriety. 

There are two thousand men and women met by 
these visitors every week in the common lodging- 
houses, and very often they succeed in collecting a 
good congregation of these wretched people and bring- 
ing them to the evangelistic service at the hall in the 
evening. During the winter entertainments are given 
in the " kitchens,'' and during the summer frequent 
meetings are held in the open air. 

While these brethren are preaching in the lodging- 
houses, other delegations from the society are conduct- 
ing service among the fifteen thousand inmates of the 
twelve workhouses, where they have gathered for food 
and shelter. Most of these are temporary guests, 
stopping here until business development offers them 
employment. Many inmates whom age or disease 
has disabled never hope to leave the wards. These 
unfortunates form attentive congregations. They are 
in a thoughtful mood ; they reflect upon their present 
condition, and see therein the result of past folly, and 
they are ready to receive advice for future profit. By 
a division of labor, each ward has a service, after which 



144 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

the sick and infirm are visited personally and com- 
forted with the Word. 

Another delegation visits the infirmaries, where are 
met many who, while in health and strength, never 
attended a religious service, and who are as ignorant 
of religion as the heathen. Here are met all classes, 
from the respectable tradesman to the blasphemous 
skeptics, infidels, Jews and "cranks" — people of every 
shade of belief and of no belief They are all, how- 
ever, softened by affliction, and willing to hear the 
Gospel message of the Great Physician. It is a solemn 
and impressive scene. There are the long rows of 
white cots, each occupied by a pale sufferer, some of 
whom will hear the message of salvation for the last 
time. The stillness of the ward is broken by the 
voice of prayer and song of praise. The Scriptures 
are impressively read, and a short address follows, in 
which all are urged to seek help from the Great 
Physician. At the conclusion of the service, as the 
visitors go from cot to cot, leaving a tract, or quoting 
a promise, or offering a prayer, they hear many testi- 
monies to the consolation of the Gospel. One of the 
visitors informs us of a woman who had been an 
inmate at that institution for twenty years. Upon his 
last visit to the helpless sufferer from paralysis, he 
thought from her pale face and motionless form that 
she was dead. He asked the nurse if she was con- 
scious. The sufferer, recognizing the familiar voice, 
faintly murmured, "Happy in the Lord." That night 
at seven o'clock, by a strange coincidence, while some 
members of the Christian Community were holding an 
open-air meeting in a court below the infirmary-ward 
window, she quietly and happily passed away. 

The casual wards employ another delegation of 
these preachers. The services are held on Sunday 
afternoon, in a room granted for the purpose, at Hol- 
born, Islington, St. George's and Shoreditch. The 



THE GOSPEL AMONG OUTCASTS, 145 

congregation is composed mostly of men. This class 
of paupers are sui generis. They are the sediment of 
the very dregs. Nothing short of the fear of starva- 
tion could induce them to undergo the harsh treat- 
ment, the cold bath and the labor cells of the casual 
ward. And yet the wards are clean and fairly com- 
fortable, and the food, if not palatable, is at least 
wholesome. For some reason, the frequenters of the 
casual ward are placed under a social bane by other 
vagrants. The inmates seem to have lost every spark of 
self-respect. They are surprised to be told that even 
yet they can become upright citizens. Their incre- 
dulity smothers the hopefulness aroused, and makes it 
difficult to awaken within them the spirit of self-help. 

However despairing of success the labors of the 
Christian Community may be to a spectator, the work- 
ers themselves are enthusiastic over the triumphs of 
the grace of God, which has already transformed some 
of these degraded creatures into honest, sober and 
industrious citizens and consistent Christians, some of 
whom are among their most zealous workers. 

The society supports nine mission stations in 
destitute districts of the East End, in which are held 
annually upwards of three thousand services. Each 
mission serves as the centre, where concentrate the 
society's aggressive agencies at work in that district. 
The mission hall in Thrawl street, whose commodious 
building stands out in striking contrast with the sur- 
rounding rickety tenements, will show what busy 
hives these centres are. Hither the workers invite 
the unfortunates met in their visitation, hither the 
open-air preachers bring their congregations gathered 
out of doors, and hither the rescue workers direct 
the homeless men and women found asleep upon 
the streets. Here are held services every night, 
to interest old and young. Every Saturday night 
after twelve o'clock the hall is thrown open as a 



146 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

shelter for destitute men, who are furnished with bed 
and breakfast, and a prayer meeting is held on Sabbath 
morning. The benevolent work of the Christian 
Community is necessarily very extensive. It includes 
free meals for adults and children, distribution of 
bread, coal and grocery tickets, the loan of blankets 
and clothing, small loans to relieve distress, nurse the 
sick or bury the dead. Every application for relief is 
carefully investigated, and when given is used as an 
introduction to the Gospel. 

Owing to the migratory habits and dissolute char- 
acter of the population among whom the Christian 
Community labors, it is difficult to ascertain direct 
results. The Gospel is presented in child-like 
simplicity, with the hope that the truth will reach the 
heart of some prodigal among the hardened and 
brutalized company, who will be thereby led to for- 
sake the '' swine " and the " husks," and seek the 
companionship and comfort of his Father's house. 




CHAPTER XII. 

THE RIVER PARISH. 

TIj^OR moral purposes, for patriotic purposes, for social 
■*- purposes, for religious purposes, there never was 
devised a better agency than the Thames Church Mis- 
sion/' Such is the testimony of Lord Shaftsbury to 
the efficiency of the society that carries the Gospel mes- 
sage to the tens of thousands employed in the service 
of " Father Thames." 

The single aim of the Thames Church Mission is 
to bring the knowledge of the glorious Gospel to every 
sailor, boatman, bargeman, laborer, fisherman, in a 
word, to every employe connected with the shipping 
in the port of London. 

This river parish extends from Richmond to the 
Nord Light, a distance of seventy-two miles, with a 
water front consisting of wharves, docks and canals of 
one hundred and forty miles, containing a daily float- 
ing population of three hundred thousand souls. 

The Thames Church Mission grew out of an 
organized effort, in 1829, to reach the sailors in the 
docks. An old war ship, the '* Brazen," was fitted 
up for mission services and moored opposite the 
Tower. It served this purpose until succeeded by the 
" Swan/* a cutter equipped for cruising service '*to do 
battle for the Lord of hosts " along the river. For 
thirty years the Swan was faithful to her commission 
among the ungodly crews from Blackwall to Green- 
wich. Earnest and persistent efforts overcame the 
open opposition manifested toward the "Gospel Ship." 
The colliers, barges and convict ships were regularly 



148 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

visited, and many, for the first time, heard an exposi- 
tion of the Scriptures. The services on board the 
" Swan " were blessed to the conversion of souls ; and, 
to this day, there are to be met on the river men who 
date their first religious impressions to the instruction 
received at the Bible class and mission services on 
that floating Bethel. 

This success encouraged further development. The 
" Swan '' was succeeded by a permanent mission hall 
at Bugsby, an increased staff of workers, and a steam 
launch. The river parish is now divided into severe 
sections, each of which has its missionary, colporteur 
and mission boat ; so that every craft, from the stately 
steamship to the humblest river barge, is boarded by 
these Gospel messengers. 

To view a representative section of this parish, we 
take our stand amid the roar of commerce on London 
Bridge. In the "pool," immediately beneath, several 
huge ocean liners ride lazily at anchor, and others dis- 
charge their cargo at the wharves. On both sides of 
the river, ** below bridge," as far as the eye can reach, 
stretches a forest of masts ; while the rigging of many 
ships in the docks towers far above the housetops. 
The traffic on the river appears as heavy as on the 
bridge. Swift steamers, puffing tugs, sluggish barges, 
fishing-boats and river crafts of all kinds pick their 
way in every direction "above bridge." Among such 
scenes, along this water highway, labor from day to 
day the two chaplains and twent>'"-two missionaries. 
Scripture readers and colporteurs of the Thames 
Church Mission. They visit all the wharves, docks 
and boats, reading the Word, supplying Bibles, advo- 
cating temperance, conducting prayer meetings, con- 
versing with individuals, distributing religious literature 
and scattering the Gospel seed among this extensive 
community that lies outside the spiritual influence of 
the ordinary parish church, and is unreached by any 
other Christian agency. 



THE RIVER PARISH, 149 

No description, however vivid, could give a just 
conception of the practical work of these missionaries. 
You must visit the river parish to appreciate its 
magnitude and importance. Let us take a brief sur- 
vey of the several sections of the service, each of which 
has its own peculiar features. 

We take the train from London to Gravesend, 
where awaits us the little steam launch, "Edward 
Auriol," recently dedicated by the Bishop of London 
at the Temple pier in the presence of a large and 
influential assembly. The launch has supplanted the 
old ** Swan," which, like many of the society's mis- 
sionaries, did good service even when past the age of 
retirement. The "Edward Auriol " cost ;^97S, is 
well fitted with decks, fore and aft, and has cabin 
accommodations for forty passengers. It performs 
valuable service in visiting vessels between Gravesend 
and the Nord Light. 

We board her and are soon steaming out upon 
the " long reach," where ocean crafts great and small, 
bound for different parts of the world, ride at anchor. 
Our steamer like a spider darts among them. The 
quick eye of the chaplain fixes upon a huge emigrant 
ship bound for Melbourne, with some six hundred 
souls on board. He orders the pilot to bear down 
upon her. We make fast to the heaving hulk and climb 
up the side to her deck. Everything is bustle and 
confusion. The passengers have just arrived. Bundles, 
beds and kettles lie scattered about. Men are carry- 
ing baggage to their berths, women are crying, friends 
are bidding farewell and peddlers are disposing of 
various wares. Amid such confusion a regular serv- 
ice is impossible. The chaplain gathers together the 
little groups scattered about, speaks a few words of 
counsel and commends them in earnest prayer to the 
protection and service of the Lord. Then the parcels 
of literature are brought on board. As the passengers 



150 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

come forward to purchase a Bible or receive a pack- 
age of religious tracts, they are admonished to 
acknowledge the Lord in all their ways in their new 
home. The saloon passengers are also provided with 
religious literature. The fact that a well-known 
bishop of the English Church received a tract and a 
word of counsel from an unsuspecting colporteur shows 
the carefulness of the missionaries to overlook no one 
on the ship. In this way the Gospel is brought per- 
sonally to the thirty-five thousand emigrants who 
annually leave the port of London. 

There is not much time for elaborate ceremony, 
for scarcely an hour has elapsed before the anchor is 
weighed, and the big ship moves slowly seaward, amid 
the waving of handkerchiefs and many farewells to the 
occupants of the mission launch, as they steam away 
to visit another ship. As many as a dozen vessels are 
thus visited in a day. Moreover, religious services are 
held every day through the week at the Sailors' Home, 
and on Sabbath aboard the four training-ships at 
Gravesend; while opposite, at the Tilbury docks, a 
mission hall, with day schools and sailors' reading- 
rooms, is supported, and a missionary is employed 
among the men there. 

The division from Gravesend to Erith is worked 
by a veteran missionary, Mr. Lowther, the oldest 
agent of the society, assisted by a colporteur. He 
is a well-known figure, in his little boat flying the 
"T. C. M." flag, rowing among the large crafts on the 
river. The cement works on the banks is also 
included in his visitation, where he reads the Script- 
ures to the workmen during the dinner hour, and holds 
an occasional service. 

Mr. Clark, for many years a sailor in the Merchant 
Marine, covers the district from Erith to Greenwich, 
visiting the men at the Beckton Gas Works and the 
Royal Arsenal. As he paddles around in his boat, 



THE RIVER PARISH, 151 

among numerous colliers, barges and brigs at anchor 
there, he is hailed by a lounger on a deck for " some- 
thing to read/' This serves as a good introduction to 
draw his interlocutor into conversation. The illus- 
trated papers attract others of the crew about him, and 
before leaving he gives the company sound instruction 
on the purpose of life. From here he pulls over to a 
neighboring collier, whose rattling chains exclude any 
possibility of his being heard. Peering down into the 
hold, almost concealed by clouds of coal dust, a dozen 
men are seen stripped to the waist, filling the shutes, 
which the hydraulic lift raises into the barges. These 
colliers, we are informed, are hard drinkers, and rough 
customers to deal with. Nothing can be done just 
now, except to leave copies of the British Workman 
and some tracts for the toilers to read at their leisure. 

An old missionary of the Thames Church Mission, 
relates an incident that illustrates the power of the 
silent messenger upon one of these typical " rough 
customers." 

**One day," he says, *' I was boarding a coaling vessel, and 
I offered one of the men a little tract. He refused it with a 
vile oath. But I would not be beaten, and I tried to coax him. 
This only made matters worse ; he called his mates round him 
and began to jeer at me, and eventually, finding that I could 
not be rebuffed, he flew into a passion and spat in my face. 
What was to be done ? I felt that further conversation would 
be useless, and I prepared to leave the ship, when it occurred to 
me to place the tract in the fo'c's'le. I did so, at the same time 
breathing a prayer that it might be used and blessed to his 
salvation." 

That prayer was heard and answered. Many years after, 
the same missionary was rowing on the river just below Wool- 
wich, when he observed a man beckoning frantically to him 
from a ship in midstream. He rowed to the vessel, and before 
he had time to climb up the side, the man bent over and liter- 
ally pulled him on board. 

" Don't you know me ?" he asked the astonished missionary. 

*' Well, I can't say I do," he replied, adding, " but what are 
you so excited about?" 



152 THE EVANGEIIZATIQN OF 4 GREAT CITY. 

*' Don't you remember/* the seaman explained, ** offering a 

tract some years ago to a man on board the , and he 

wouldn't take it, but spat in your face and cursed you ?" 

"Oh, yes," responded our friend, *' quite well; he was 
called Old Nat." 

*' Well, that's me ; leastwg-ys, I'm not old Nat now, I'm new 
Nat; old Nat is dead and buried, and I'm anew man," and the 
poor fellow almost jumped for joy. 

The reason of his rejoicing may easily be guessed. He had 
found the tract in the fo'c's'le when his ship had put to sea, and 
it had been the means of leading him to Jesus. With a changed 
heart came a changed life, and his mates were ready to testify 
to the holy example he had set them ever since. He never 
expected to meet the missionary again ; for, as so often happens, 
he had been moving about from port to port, and had very 
seldom come up the Thames. 

The busiest bit of the parish is in the section from 
Greenwich to Blackfriar's Bridge. There are four 
agents here, two Scripture readers, a colporteur and 
the senior missionary, Mr. Carter. None know better 
than he how to catch the ear of a jolly Jack Tar. Being 
an experienced sailor himself, it requires little effort 
to ingratiate himself into the favor of the rough sons of 
the sea. His daily routine is somewhat as follows : 

In the morning he makes his round of the docks, 
where assemble daily large numbers of unskilled 
laborers, from all parts of the metropolis, seeking 
employment. The *' taking on " is a time of great 
excitement, especially when work is scarce. These 
hungry men fight bitterly, even damaging both gar- 
ments and limbs in their eagerness to secure a metal 
ticket from the office window, that secures them five 
pence for every hour's work. 

Among the groups of idle men awaiting employ- 
ment the missionary mingles, distributing reading 
matter, speaking an encouraging word and reminding 
them of the evening service at the mission hall. He 
is well known to all and kindly received. Sometimes 
one will interpose a skeptical objection, which induces 
a debate, and attracts an audience. If it is practical, 



THE RIVER PARISH, 153 

he will gather a company in the '* shelter " and there 
address them upon the great theme. 

The rest of the day is spent on the river. He tries, 
if possible, to board a ship about dinner time, when he 
can catch the men in the fo'c's'le. This compartment 
is a gloomy place, with little light and less ventilation, 
impregnated with an unsavory kitchen odor, tobacco 
smoke and parafifine oil — the last place a parson would 
select for a prayer meeting. But Mr. Carter is never 
more at home than when he finds himself in the 
greasy fo'c's'le of a ship. No sooner does his head 
appear at the little, low door, than he is received with 
a hearty burst of salutations in answer to his intro- 
ductory question : " Any room for another down 
here ?" He is pressed to have a " bite," but he has 
not come, he says, to eat, but to have a yarn, if it 
IS agreeable to his mates. "Well, we always do have a 
spin when you drop anchor here," replies a brown, 
burly tar, setting to work with his knife and fork upon 
the com beef and cabbage heaped upon his plate. 
They have a crack together, until all finish dinner, 
then the missionary opens his pack, distributes hymn 
books and introduces his '' yarn " with this sentence: 
" Well, lads, God in his goodness and mercy has 
privileged us to meet once more," and then he reads 
a portion of Scripture, expounding it verse by verse, 
pointing out the necessity of regeneration and urging 
all to commit their soul to him who saved the disciples 
from shipwreck on stormy Galilee. " Let us ask 
him," he concludes, " to bless and save us just now." 
And then follows this simple prayer : '^ Lord, bless these 
dear men ; bless their wives and their little ones, bless 
the chaplain and the officers ; God, take care of this 
vessel while plowing the mighty deep. And Lord, 
hasten the day when every ship shall become a float- 
ing Bethel, every captain a preacher of righteous- 
ness, and every sailor a true lover of Jesus." As he 



154 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

concludes this petition not a few of his auditors respond 
with a fervent amen. 

He has had many exhibitions of courtesy extended 
to him by officers and men in token of sympathy 
with his work. On one occasion, while addressing 
the firemen on board a large steamer, fearing to detain 
them too long from their work, he was about to close 
the service, when the second engineer came to the 
fo'c's'le, and said: " Keep right on, Mr. Carter; we like 
you to come here," and he remained until the close of 
the meeting, when he gave the following testimony : 
" I want to bear witness to the good being done by 
the Thames Church Mission. I, myself, was a fireman 
four years ago, and one of the biggest scoundrels 
under the canopy of God's heaven. I remember you, 
sir, then coming to our ship. You came down to the 
fo'c's'le ; I was in my berth. You spoke to the men 
about the love of God and the story of the cross, and 
pointed out the folly and danger of a sinful life. Your 
words seemed to penetrate right into my soul. Shortly 
after that I met a few Christian friends and went with 
them to a meeting, where I was led to close with the 
offer of God's mercy. I now love the Lord and know 
that he blesses these fo'c's'le meetings. Therefore I 
took it on my own responsibility, without consulting 
the chief, to allow you to keep the men ten minutes 
beyond their time." 

The Bugsby Mission Room, on the river bank at 
East Greenwich, is in charge of the senior missionary 
of this district, who conducts service for sailors every 
Sabbath evening, gathering his congregation in a 
novel way. There are four mission boats connected 
with the station, and these are dispatched for those 
disposed to come to the service, from the ships 
anchored in the stream. He thus gathers about fifty 
sailors every Sabbath evening at the service. The 
mission hulk, " Lady," moored in the Regent's canal, 



THE RIVER PARISH, 155 

forms another centre of activity. It is an old fishing- 
smack, converted into a floating mission station. A 
house has been built on the deck as a residence for 
the missionary and his family ; while the fo'c's'le has 
been fitted up as a mission room accommodating 
eighty-five persons. During the day it serves as a 
reading-room, supplied with newspapers and maga- 
zines, and is frequented by sailors and dock laborers. 
A well-attended Bible class is held here every Wednes- 
day evening, and two services on Sabbath, one for 
English and the other for foreign sailors. A Scan- 
dinavian missionary also labors in this district, from 
Shadwell Basin to the East India docks, especially 
among his own countrymen and Germans. He visits 
the dock offices and cabins where foreign sailors con- 
gregate, and at times succeeds in securing the attend- 
ance of the entire ship's company at the service. He 
distributes large quantities of religious literature in 
foreign languages, and places great importance upon 
this branch of his work, having received testimonials 
as to its influence from all classes — from the officer in 
charge of the Queensland Government Emigration, 
down to the greaser in the docks. 

There remains one more section of this long and 
narrow parish to traverse before we complete our sur- 
vey. The district between Blackfriar's Bridge and 
Richmond is occupied mostly by barges, which journey 
from the Thames along the canals far into the country. 
It is estimated that forty thousand barges visit the 
Thames every year. The inhabitants of these roving 
river wagons are described as a " rough set of ungodly 
people," whose migrator}'- habits prevent them from 
coming under the influence of the sanctuary. As the 
colporteur rows alongside the long line of connected 
barges, he is received with the familiar salutation : 
'* Hallo ! my old friend ; ain't you comin' on board us 
to-day?" If it be their dinner time, he will gather as 



156 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

many as possible on the centre barge and, while they, 
unkempt and unwashed, eat their dinners from the 
plates on their laps, he breaks unto them the Bread of 
Life. He then goes from barge to barge, leaving a 
supply of healthy literature to occupy their minds 
during the long inland journey. He visits about thirty 
barges a day, and returns home in the evening with a 
heart full of thankfulness and a pack emptied of tracts. 
And yet these are the people who were long regarded 
as " wild animals possessed of the devil," and " beyond 
reformation.'* But the Thames Church Mission has 
proved the possibility, not only of their reformation, 
but also of their regeneration. These converted barge- 
men have organized among themselves a Voluntary 
Helpers* Association, who co-operate with the officers 
of the Thames Church Mission in extending the 
influence of the mission. They are supplied with 
bargemen's cards, bearing the following invitation, 
which they distribute among their fellows : 

" The Rev. H. Bloomer will be glad to welcome aPxy barge- 
men at the office of the Mission, 31 New Bridge street, Ludgate 
Circus, E. C." 

In response to these invitations, during the past 
year, 146 riverside men called on the Secretary for 
counsel in spiritual matters. 

Having witnessed the practical work of the mission 
among different classes in the various sections of the 
river, let us glance through a missionary's diary, and 
read his own impressions of this daily service. We 
select a few entries at random from a month's experi- 
ence, every day of which is filled with interesting 
incidents : 

"Hoisted the flag for service at the masthead of the 
'Progress;' had a good muster of sailors; all gave earnest 
attention to the message of salvation." 

" Boarded the steamship ' Arawa,* for New Zealand ; con- 
versed with a number of the passengers and supplied them 



THE RIVER PARISH, 157 

with tracts, etc. In the fo'c's'le found about twenty men ; gave 
a New Testament to each, and entreated them to seek the 
Lord." 

" Was received kindly on board the ' Contest ' by the 
master, who said : ' I am so glad to see you are come. We 
are waiting for a barge ; all the men are in the fo'c's'le unem- 
ployed. If you like, I will call them off for service.' I thanked 
him, and told him I would rather go down among the sailors. 
I had an interesting and, I trust, a profitable time with them. 
At the close of my address, four men signed the pledge-book." 

" To-day visited the steamship * Daneshell,' when the men 
gave me a kind reception. I spoke to them from i.oo to 1.15. 
They were very attentive to my address and, at the close, one 
of the men said: 'You see that Thames Church Mission 
almanac ? Well, we were caught in a heavy gale in the Bay 
of Biscay, and I thought the ship was going down ; but every 
time I looked at that almanac I saw those words marked : 

*' John 3 : 16 — God so loved the world ;" and them blessed 

words have been the means of my salvation.' " 

He briefly summarizes his monthly report to the 
society as follows : 

" My efforts, as usual, have been to impress, where I could, 
the importance of salvation in Jesus. I have boarded thirty- 
eight barges, fourteen ships and twenty-nine steamers. Gave 
eleven addresses, at which ninety were present. A number 
have thanked me most heartily.*' 

The Thames Church Mission combines several 
societies under one management. It is a missionary 
society, bringing the Gospel to individuals who, per- 
haps, would hear it from no other source, through 
services on shipboard and in mission halls, and by 
personal dealing with souls wherever practical. The 
agents, who are mostly " old salts," and know all "the 
ropes," seek their hearers on the water, in the docks, 
at the boarding-houses and shipping-offices, where- 
ever riverside men are to be found. They arc out in 
all weathers — in winter cold and summer heat, in sun- 
shine and storm, in rain, wind and mist, always on the 
same errand — fishing for men ; for the officer in his 
cabin, the passenger in the saloon, the emigrant in the 



158 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

steerage and the sailor on deck. The following yearly 
summary shows the extent of this visitation : 

Visits to individuals 79,924 

Visits to British ships and steamers 19,3^3 

Visits to foreign ships and steamers 2,105 

Visits to barges and small crafts 17,286 

Number of services held 4»33o 

Number of attendants at services 132,517 

It is a Bible society, supplying the vScriptures on 
board river boats, selling copies wherever possible, 
and freely furnishing them to those who cannot pay. 
" Shiver my timbers, lad !'* exclaimed a missionary on 
meeting a sailor without a copy of the Scriptures ; 
*' you might as well go to sea without a chart as with- 
out a Bible." And he immediately dispatched the 
colporteur to bring a copy from the boat. 

It is a temperance society. Every agent carries 
the pledge-book and advocates, upon every occasion, 
the duty and profit of total abstinence. 

And it is a publication society, distributing freely 
pure literature from its own and other societies' presses. 
In every fo'c's'le are hung the Thames Church Mission 
almanac and a bag of religious literature. The 
society's illustrated monthly, The Sailor's Friend^ 
containing interesting " yarns," Scripture lessons, 
forms of prayer, a monthly letter to sailors, and a list 
of sailors' Christian homes in different parts of the 
world, is distributed by tens of thousands along the 
river, and finds its way into every port of the world. 
Add to these the three-quarters of a million tracts and 
Scripture rolls, emigrant packets and other periodicals 
that are furnished the men on the river, who, in turn, 
often send them, after perusal, to their families at 
home, and we have some conception of the far-reaching 
influence of this evangelistic centre. 

Some little time ago the directors, in the hope of 
securing a reliable statment as to the practical results 



THE RIVER PARISH. 159 

accomplished, sent this request to their missionaries : 
"State frankly your opinion whether the spiritual and 
moral condition of the sailors has improved during the 
past five years, and whether the improvement is still 
being maintained/' A few answers may be taken, 
representative of the conclusion of all the missionaries. 
One writes : " Decidedly it is. Each year seems to be 
better, both morally and spiritually, and it is still more 
rapidly improving." Another testifies : ** My firm con- 
clusion is that the spiritual and moral condition of our 
seamen has much improved. In fact, when I trace 
back my first connection with the mission, nearly 
twenty years past, and compare it with the present, I 
can truly say that in many, God, the mighty change, 
hath wrought. For, in my early history, many were 
the rebuffs we received, and not a few times threats ; 
but now, nearly everywhere I go, I get a good recep- 
tion." Another answers : " Many of the bargemen 
speak very highly of the Thames Church Mission. 
They tell me of the wonderful improvement in their 
own class. They compare the past with the present, 
and say if their forefathers had been told of the im- 
provement that would be made in their children, they 
would not have believed it." 

This testimony is corroborated by many officials 
connected with the river. An inspector of the Thames 
police force says: "There is scarcely a man on the 
river, be he sailor, bargeman, lighterman, policeman or 
customs officer, who has not received good and benefit 
from the Thames Church Mission." Another in- 
spector, addressing the missionary to the bargemen, 
says : " When I see your flag on the river, I think to 
myself, if those ladies and gentlemen who send you 
only knew the sailors, fishermen and bargemen when I 
joined the force fifteen years ago (the ignorance, 
drunkenness and blasphemy was something dreadful), 
they could never believe what a different class of men 
we have now." 



160 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

The piermaster at Lambeth states that "the 
deviltry and drunkenness existing among river toilers 
forty years ago was almost beyond description. The 
sailors, bargemen and lightermen were more like bar- 
barians than inhabitants of a civilized country. Now it 
is a rare sight to see a bargeman drunk. I know 
many a man who had been brought to a knowledge of 
a Saviour's love through the Thames Church Mission 
— men who before were wild and reckless, but who are 
now living happy Christian lives." 

Any visitor can test the truth of these statements 
by a personal visitation. He will find the river 
workers themselves bearing unconscious testimony 
to the influence of this evangelistic work among them. 
He will observe it in the welcome accorded the mis- 
sionary, in their willingness to assemble for prayer, in 
the reverence shown at the services, in the public testi- 
mony born at the meetings, and in the interest mani- 
fested by many in spiritual things. Indeed, it is not 
an unusual sight to see a " chap '' stretched upon the 
deck or in his bunk, utilizing his spare moments read- 
ing the Scriptures, with " none to molest or make him 
afraid." 

When once these men have committed themselves 
to discipleship, there is no better school for developing 
sturdy, oak-hearted Christians than the ship's fo'c's'le. 
Here hypocrisy is soon detected, and only genuine 
coin can pass as acceptable currency. This discipline 
makes it possible to know and number those who have 
found and are following the Saviour. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
THE RAGGED SCHOOLS. 

TTISTORY carries us back as early as 1785 for the 
■^ ■*- first efforts to place the children of the poorest 
classes in organized schools, when that earnest and 
practical servant of Jesus Christ, Rowland Hill, began 
his ministry at Surrey Chapel. But the aggressive 
spirit of this pioneer was not enthusiastically followed 
until 1843, when the first ragged school was organized 
for the education of the neglected urchins of the 
streets by a company of gentlemen, with Lord Ashley 
at their head. 

The most notoriously squalid neighborhoods were 
selected as their field of labor. In localities where 
mothers sold their daughters like slaves; where 
depraved women occupied nearly every house; where 
corpses were found sharing the rooms of the living ; 
where infants were born into schools of iniquity, and 
bred in the pestilential atmosphere of crime; where 
parents seldom, and children never, washed themselves; 
where the youth subsisted on garbage gathered at the 
sewer's mouth; where overcrowding, ignorance, 
drunkenness, mendicancy and profanity of every de- 
scription abounded — these were the districts selected 
for planting the ragged schools. Such was Old Pye 
street, out of which forty policemen were driven by the 
enraged inhabitants while trying to capture a thief. 
Such was Marylebone, in the neighborhood of Para- 
dise street (the name being a reminiscence only of by- 
gone charms), where the people lived like veritable 
savages. Such was Drury lane, with its twenty gin 
palaces, where nine sfnall rooms were found housing 



162 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

eighty-four people, twenty-three of whom were chil- 
dren, " whose homes were cellars littered with straw." 

The securing of a room for school purposes, 
great as the obstacle was in those days, was an 
easy task compared with gathering the scholars for 
instruction. The recruiting officer found himself pur- 
suing his coveted Arabs up courts, alleys, labyrinthine 
passages, among crazy rookeries, from which he could 
not hope to extricate himself, except under the guid- 
ance of an inhospitable denizen of the place. He was 
roundly abused by besotted parents for trying to kid- 
nap their children and to deprive them of the source 
of their only support — the ill-gotten revenue brought 
home daily by their pilfering offspring. Moreover, 
his work was greatly hampered, and the opposition of 
parents encouraged, by the adverse criticism of an un- 
christian public and an unsympathetic press. Finally, 
having induced a number of the youth to go with him, 
he found that their wild natures turned the school into 
a pandemonium. They interpreted every rule of dis- 
cipline as an abridgment of their liberty. However, 
after prayerful perseverance this insubordination was 
overcome, and the classes were organized for instruc- 
tion. New schools were demanded and supplied when 
the success of the first one was apparent, until every 
slum in London had its ragged school ; and the move- 
ment was acknowledged, even by adverse critics, to be 
a success. 

The assembled classes in a " ragged school " 
present a sight never to be forgotten. No wonder 
they attracted the pen of Dickens, interested the pencil 
of Cruickshank and secured the patronage of London's 
noblest citizens. 

A fair specimen of many of the scholars occupying 
the rough benches might be found in the lad brought 
before a London magistrate. He could not read ; he 
knew nothing about the Bible ; he had never heard of 



THE RAGGED SCHOOLS, 163 

God and, according to his own artless confession, he 
knew nothing beyond *' how to sweep a crossing." The 
counterpart of others may be seen in the specimen 
scholar described by Lord Shaftsbury : " He was a 
most remarkable specimen of physical suffering and 
intellectual degradation. He was brought to the refuge* 
in Westminster so pallid and lean that I might have held 
him on my hand. He was covered with sores from 
head to foot by ill-treatment ; so stupid that, for a long 
time, we thought he would be wholly incapable of any 
intellectual culture whatever. Fatherless, his mother 
was one of the most infamous of womenkind, and the 
unfortunate waifs be^t friend was a thief, who brought 
him to the refuge."* Another typical scholar is shown 
in the following incident : 

" Can you tell me anything about Jesus Christ ?" 
was asked an eleven-year-old girl in an East End 
parish. Her frank answer is a strong appeal for the 
support of the ragged schools : " Please, sir, is that 
anyone as lives about here ?" 

The late Professor Leoni Levi stated that such 
children maybe found in four distinct stages of degra- 
dation : '* The ragged school is the asylum of the 
destitute. The industrial school, of the dangerous and 
depraved. The reformatory school, of the fallen but 
still reclaimable. The prison, of the depraved and the 
guilty." " No child is too neglected, too barbarous or 
too unsavory," says Lord Shaftsbury, " for the ragged 
school. The forlorn, the homeless, the precociously 
depraved, the almost unmanageable, whom no one else 
will have — these are the chosen fields on which the 
true ragged-school teacher, moved by a Divine com- 
passion, is ready to expand love and pain and prayer." 

The nets of the ragged schools were set to catch 
the children in their first stage of degradation, and 

* It is recorded of this lad that, in after years, he became very pros- 
perous at the antipodes. 



164 THE E VANG ELIZA TION OP A GREA T CITY, 

they have made a good draft. They were intended 
originally for the religious instruction of children too 
dirty and too rough for admission into the ordinary 
Sabbath schools. But it was found that many of the 
children gathered in could not read the Scriptures ; 
this necessitated secular instruction, which gradually 
developed into day schools, around which clustered a 
number of helpful agencies, such as penny banks, 
sewing-classes, clothing clubs, etc. The passage of 
the educational Act of 1870, and the extension of 
Board schools, has relieved many ©f the ragged 
schools from the burden of secular instruction, and 
given them more time for strictly evangelistic work. 

In 1844, all the schools were united into the 
Ragged School Union, with a Secretary and central 
committee, leaving each school, however, free and 
under the management of its own board. The Union 
assists by judicious grants of money, the erection of 
buildings, payment of teachers and other expenses. It 
diffuses information, encourages the teachers by fre- 
quent conferences, and rewards the scholars by distri- 
bution of prizes. There are now affiliated with the 
Union 208 Ragged School Missions, with 4040 
teachers, only ninety-six of whom are paid, and 376 of 
whom were formerly scholars. 

The training may be classified as mental, physical 
and spiritual. There are thirty-one day schools con- 
nected with the Union, with an average attendance of 
2394, and ninety-nine night schools, with 3991 scholars. 
Connected with these are various clubs, institutes, 
brigades, societies and industrial classes for boys, 
whose handicraft is encouraged by frequent public 
exhibitions. Instruction is imparted by lectures, 
sterioptican exhibitions and entertainments. Thus 
the youth are attracted from the streets, by day and at 
night, and their minds trained to love books, which 
are furnished from the select libraries of the schools. 



THE RAGGED SCHOOLS, 165 

A careful supervision is exercised over the physical 
needs of the scholars. They come from homes where 
little or no provision is made for their sustenance. A 
veteran ragged-school worker, Mr. George Holland, 
testifies that the children " do not get necessary food^ 
and do not have proper rest ; for many do not go to 
their beds until midnight, and frequently the drunken 
brawl of the parents, commenced outside in the streets, 
is continued in the one room in the presence of the 
children, who eventually cry themselves to sleep about 
three or four o'clock in the morning, to rise again in 
time for school, and to go there having had no food.'* 
Another authority. Sir W. H. Dyke, states that "in 
one hospital for children, in the course of a single 
year, not far short of a thousand little ones were treated 
by the medical staff for diseases produced by lack of 
food, and exposure to the cold, through insufficiency 
of clothing." An excellent society, that took pains to 
verify these statements, reported that eight thousand 
out of thirty thousand children attended school without 
any food whatever. Hence the benevolent fund of the 
Ragged School Union is severely taxed in providing 
annually seventy-three thousand meals to their hungry 
scholars, and sending about twenty-three hundred of 
the most delicate ones for a fortnight to the holiday 
homes in the country. 

All these efforts to brighten the lives of these street 
urchins are only means to draw them under spiritual 
instruction, of which, when first reached, many of 
them are utterly destitute. This is the most important 
and extensive branch of the work. In addition to the 
Scriptural instruction in the weekly school sessions, 
there are ninety-six Sabbath-morning schools, with 
7264 children, 143 afternoon schools, with 27,437 
scholars, and ninety-eight Sabbath-evening schools, 
with 21,474 in attendance; besides 241 children's 
services, with 27,528 in attendance, representing an 



166 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

average Sabbath attendance of more than eighty thou- 
sand street urchins who are receiving religious 
instruction. Besides these, there are 218 Bible classes, 
with 5637 older scholars ; weekly prayer meetings 
and other religious meetings for the young. 

The George Yard Ragged School, a representative 
institution affiliated with the Union, may be taken to 
illustrate both the growth and extent of ragged-school 
work. The personnel of the neighborhood and the 
character of the inhabitants may be inferred from the 
mere mention of the district of Whitechapel, where the 
mission is located. And yet the Whitechapel of 
to-day is not what it was when George Holland pitched 
his tent on the site of an abandoned distillery in George 
Yard, thirty-five years ago. A large share of this 
improvement is due to the influence of such institutions 
as the ragged school. The work, which began with a 
few children gathered in from the streets, has devel- 
oped until there are several buildings now used for 
school purposes. One is bewildered with the list of 
operations carried on at all hours, every day and 
night of the week. The mere enumeration would fill 
a page. There is an infant day nursery, where forty 
children can be accommodated, washed, fed and cared 
for, while their mothers are at work earning means to 
support the family. There are free ragged day schools 
for elementary instruction; an infant class for very 
young children, and a toy class, where they can enjoy 
themselves for hours with numerous novelties instead 
of wandering the streets, when turned out by parents 
who want all the house-room for work. There are 
sewing-classes, Sunday schools. Bands of Hope, 
children's services, singing-classes, recreation gather- 
ings, excursions, and holidays in the country at three 
neat cottages that belong to the mission. There are 
industrial classes for boys, who meet three nights to 
learn how to work with tools. The older girls have 



THE RAGGED SCHOOLS. 167 

classes in dressmaking, reading, etc. There is a penny 
bank, a clothing club and an employment register. 
Through the children, the workers are brought into 
contact with the parents. These have Bible classes, 
mothers' and fathers' meetings, temperance and evan- 
gelistic services. There is also a female missionary, 
who visits especially among inebriate women. During 
the past year there have been 2330 meetings'for chil- 
dren and adults, with an attendance of three hundred 
and seventy-six thousand people. Mr. Holland, the 
Superintendent, says : " We have over 170 voluntary 
teachers and workers, from the peeress down to the 
humblest toiler, all working in the happiest unity and 
amity for the one great end — the salvation of souls." 

With 208 mission agencies like the George Yard 
School scattered over the metropolis, evangelizing 
among the young, it would be difficult to estimate 
their influence in molding the character of the rising 
generations. During a single year, nine hundred 
scholars were placed in situations, and 446 united with 
the church. And what these schools are doing 
to-day, they have been doing the past half century. 
They have rescued children from lives of wretchedness 
and crime. They have clothed and fed their bodies, 
instructed their minds and saved their souls. Thou- 
sands were emigrated to the colonies, where they 
became valuable servants, experienced farmers, indus- 
trious merchants, and not a few successful preachers 
and professional men. 

With such facts before him, Prof. Levi wrote this 
estimate of ragged schools : " As educational institu- 
tions of no mean order, as centres of benevolence of 
the purest and most diffusive character, as a means of 
bringing the different classes of society into friendly 
contact, ragged schools are invaluable, and they well 
deserve the sympathetic assistance of all who have the 
interest of the nation at heart," 



168 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

The ragged church is the sequel of the ragged 
school ; and both institutions, although working along 
independent lines, are closely related to each other. 
In seeking the neglected children, many parents were 
found as ignorant of spiritual truth as their offspring. 
They were debarred from attending the churches for 
obvious reasons. Their dress and habits would not 
suffer them to mingle with the better classes. Inves- 
tigation revealed the fact that there were tens of 
thousands of people who never entered a church 
door, however wide it may have been opened to them. 
The church was not in touch with the masses. There 
was no need of more churches, for those already 
opened were never more than half full at any service. 
There was a need, however, for rooms and halls in 
the very midst of the neglected poor, where bright 
attractive services might be conducted by a Christian 
teacher who was in sympathy with the poor. This 
necessity was partially met by opening the ragged 
schools for Gospel services ; and such meetings for 
parents are held in all the schools until this day. The 
demand for mission halls, however, was so great that 
an organization known as the Ragged Church and 
Chapel Union was formed for the purpose of provid- 
ing places of worship for the destitute. During the 
past thirty years the union has erected a hundred 
neat chapels in the most wretched neighborhoods, 
where a successful unsectarian evangelistic work is 
conducted by paid agents, who are the pastors of the 
little flocks. The doctrines taught are purely evan- 
gelical. As soon as the converts are raised above the 
social scale wherein the mission found them, they are 
urged to connect themselves with some regular place 
of worship, in order that the mission may be kept 
exclusively for the class for whom it was designed. 
The average Sabbath attendance is about one hundred 
of the poorest of the poor, attired in very shabby garb, 



THE RAGGED SCHOOLS. 169 

many hatless, shawUess and coatless, but all apparently 
at ease and at home. The numbers present at the 
weekly meetings will compare favorably with those at 
any of the neighboring churches and chapels. No 
less than twenty thousand people are brought under 
the influence of the Gospel every week, through the 
various meetings and agencies. 

The Field Lane Refuges and Ragged Schools may 
be taken as an example of the institutions affiliated 
with the Ragged Church and Chapel Union. Fifty 
years ago this neighborhood was a painfully notorious 
place, where thieves found safety in trap doors and 
underground passages. Garroting was practiced in 
the open day, and drunken brawls were of frequent 
occurrence. Vice and misery were depicted upon 
the countenance of young and old. Into this district 
the pioneers of ragged schools and ragged churches 
entered. A small room was secured in Caroline court 
and the school was announced to be opened on the 
first Sabbath of November, 1841. Needless to say 
there was no service that day. The room was 
besieged by the roughs, the chairs broken, windows 
smashed, the teacher roughly handled and threatened 
with his life, if he returned to the place again. On the 
following Sabbath he again appeared at the appointed 
time, but with similar results. A third attempt was 
made, but he could do no more, amid the howls and 
curses, than to go through the form of a service. 
When the opposition saw the determination of the 
Christians, they contented themselves with noisy 
demonstrations and window breaking. Progress was 
slow. One by one the scholars were gathered and 
teachers volunteered to instruct the youth. In a few 
months larger premises had to be secured. After 
shifting from place to place, partly for accommodation 
and partly from compulsion, they settled in their pres- 
ent commodious structure on Vine street. In its 



170 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

present quarters the original ragged school has been 
developed into numerous evangelistic and philan- 
thropic agencies for aggressive work among the 
thousands of wretched inhabitants of Clerkenwell. 

A view of the ragged church, held every Sabbath 
morning at eleven o'clock, leaves an indelible impres- 
sion upon the mind. Between four and five hundred 
men and women of the roughest and most vicious 
characters, with faces pinched by hunger and bodies 
wrapped in rags, assemble in the chapel and atten- 
tively listen to the word of God. Such a gathering 
must stand forth as a convincing answer to the skep- 
tical inquiry — Can we reach the lowest classes with 
the Gospel? 

The workers at Field lane prepare the way for 
the soul's food, by feeding the body. To each person 
present before eleven o'clock on Sabbath morning a 
piece of bread is given, and at the close of the service, 
which lasts an hour and a quarter, another piece of 
bread and a cup of cocoa is given. Several hundred 
mothers and children are fed every day, with the frag- 
ments of food sent gratuitously from five large firms, 
after their employes have dined. Careful inquiry is 
made by a committee of ladies into the needs of all 
applicants for help. A special fund was raised last 
year to provide a Christmas dinner for seven hundred 
homeless men and women. But space fails me to tell of 
the many kind services the workers use to gain the 
good-will of the poor, and how they use the friendship 
thus established to teach them the love of Christ. We 
content ourselves with the brief statistical enumeration 
of the results of a single year's work : 

Men and women sheltered in the Refuges . . . 697 
Boys and girls maintained in Industrial Homes. 193 
Friendless girls trained in the Servants* Home.. 37 

Attendances at the Creche 1.753 

Attendances at the Ragged Church 18,090 

Attendances at the Sunday Mission Services • . 10,556 



THE RAGGED SCHOOLS, 171 

Attendances at the Bible Ragged Schools and 

Classes 68.288 

Attendances at the Band of Hope 11,504 

Attendances at the Mothers' Meeting 12,052 

Bags of linen lent from Maternal Society ... 52 

Distributions of broken food made 24,274 

Loaves of bread distributed 13,428 

Persons placed in, or assisted to obtain, employ- 
ment . . 368 

Hot dinners given to children 13.369 

Many encouraging testimonies have been given of 
the work done by the one hundred affiliated institu- 
tions of Ragged Church and Chapel Union. The Earl 
of Shaftsbury speaking at a meeting, said : 

" I cordially approve the constitution and mode of 
action adopted by this society. After my long experi- 
ence and intimate acquaintance with the very poor, I 
am prepared to affirm that an agency such as that 
which the Ragged Church and Chapel Union employ 
is now more than ever needed. The agents of this 
society act as a species of Hght cavalry, and do the 
work of skirmishers outside the pale of the Christian 
church. The Established Church of the country is 
bound down by rules, and other Christian commu- 
nities are restricted by routine; but outside lay 
wonderfully dense masses of the population which 
must be sought out and cared for by organization 
fitted for the purpose. I am delighted to contemplate 
the immense and incognizable value of operations like 
those conducted by this society, and bid the commit- 
tee go forward in the noble career upon which they 
have entered, seeking to benefit the waifs and strays of 
the people, and to reserve for God and his service, 
the jetsam and flotsam of our fallen humanity." 

The Rev. Dr. Obrien, of Christ Church, writes : 

"The work of the Ragged Church and Chapel 
Union — as a distinct and special development of 
Christian energy — was never more essential than at 
the present moment. In our poorest parishes there 



172 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

are always found large numbers of men, women and 
children whose condition of penury and squalor ren- 
ders it impossible, by any amount of persuasion, to pre- 
vail with them to mix with the better clad in our 
regular churches or national schools. The Ragged 
Church exactly meets the necessity of the case." 

Amid many discouragements, the workers toil on 
in joyful anticipation of what the day shall declare. 




--^^^fi^^ K^Xc^^^iil**-'^^^ 



CHAPTER XIV. 
WORKING CHURCHES. 

METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE. 

P VER Since that December Sabbath in 1853, when 
-^ Charles Haddon Spurgeon, an uncouth lad of 
nineteen, preached his first sermon in the New Park 
Street Chapel, London has been blest with one of the 
most evangelical and evangelistic agencies in all its 
history. From his conversion, this Boanergis has 
shown unflagging zeal in bringing the Gospel in all 
its simplicity to bear upon the lives of his fellow-men. 
Whether, with lamp in hand, he groped for his con- 
gregation among the dark courts of a Cambridgeshire 
village, marching them one by one into the cramped 
meeting-house, or whether, by the mere announcement 
of his name, fifteen hundred people swarmed to hear 
him in New Park Street Chapel, ten thousand in 
Exeter Hall, or twenty thousand at the Crystal 
Palace, he was the same enthusiastic herald, animated 
by the same burning love for souls. Mr. Spurgeon's 
influence, however, is not confined to his preaching. 
His sermons, delivered to congregations that fill the 
five thousand seats of the Tabernacle twice every Sab- 
bath, are read by one hundred thousand people in 
Great Britain alone, and by tens of thousands through- 
out the world. 

From Pastor Spurgeon radiate all the multiplex 
agencies of this great church. He is assisted by his 
brother, who relieves him of visitation and the minor 
pastoral duties. There are nine deacons who look 
after the temporal, and twenty-six elders who care for 



174 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

the spiritual, affairs of the church. One of the latter 
is employed constantly visiting the sick, poor and 
absentees. 

The rigid examination of candidates for admission 
to fellowship has furnished the Tabernacle with an 
exceptionally zealous membership, whose practical 
piety and personal zeal is no small influence in extend- 
ing its usefulness. Every applicant presents himself 
before a committee of elders, who, if satisfied with his 
sincerity, enter his experience in a book kept for the 
purpose. After a month's probation he is examined 
by the junior pastor, who appoints a visitor to inquire 
into his private character. If this proves satisfactory 
he comes before the assembled congregation to answer 
such questions, especially upon experimental piety, as 
the pastor may ask. He then withdraws ; the visitor 
submits the report of his investigations as to his priv- 
ate life, and the vote of the church is taken. After the 
candidate has "professed his faith by immersion,*' 
administered at a week-night service, he is given the 
right hand of fellowship at the succeeding monthly 
communion, and his name is entered upon the church 
books. Every member is expected to present his 
card at every communion, and if absent three times in 
succession from the Lord's table he must present a 
satisfactory answer to his district elder. Moreover, 
every one of the six thousand members is expected to 
engage in some personal work for Christ. 

In addition to the regular auxiliaries of every well- 
equipped church there are special agencies employed 
by the tabernacle, which offer a large field for service. 
Adjoining the tabernacle is the pastor's college, where 
the consecrated men, selected by Mr. Spurgeon him- 
self, are educated for the ministry. It began with one 
student boarded out in a private family. To-day there 
are buildings which cost ^15,000, with all the neces- 
sary equipments for a thorough theological training, 



WORKING CHURCHES. 175 

and two hundred students in attendance, who are 
employed, during their course, in practical missionary 
work. Every year those living within reaching dis- 
tance of London assemble in convention at the Taber- 
nacle for the deepening of their spiritual life. The 
graduates are to be found, not only in London (where 
one of the most flourishing Baptist churches is minis- 
tered to by an alumnus of the college), but also in 
many parts of the world, doing pioneer service as mis- 
sionaries and pastors. 

The Country Mission and Evangelistic Class meets 
every Saturday night at the Tabernacle. It is open to 
all Christian workers of all evangelical denominations. 
The members are trained in the composition and 
delivery of public religious discourses for open-air and 
mission services. There are also, during the winter 
evenings, secular classes, lectures and entertainments 
for the young. 

The Colporteur's Society, with a Secretary and 
thirty agents employed, is doing a most important 
work among the industrial population of London and 
surrounding districts. This band of Gospel messen- 
gers have made in a single year about three thousand 
visits "among a priest-ridden peasantry." The society 
supports a Bible carriage, which daily goes about the 
streets selling Bibles and distributing religious litera- 
ture. In this connection we mention the Book Fund 
conducted by Mrs. Spurgeon, whereby some ten thou- 
sand volumes have been distributed among needy 
clergymen of all denominations, whose scanty libraries 
sorely needed augmenting. 

The Building Fund furnishes money without inter- 
est to help weak congregations build their chapels. 
There are several mission stations and schools sup- 
ported, where Bible classes, children's services and 
evangelistic meetings are held. Two missionaries are 
supported abroad. There is a mission for the blind, a 



176 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

tract society, a mothers' mission, a maternal society, a 
beneficial society and many other helpful agencies. 
The almshouses with seventeen inmates, the poor, 
aged and infirm members of the church, and the 
Stockwell Orphanage with its noble pile of buildings, 
housing five hundred children, supported at a yearly 
cost of ;^ 1 0,000, evoke the philanthropic energies of 
pastor and people. In the language of one of his 
biographers : *'The spectacle, as a whole, is unique. 
Nothing so striking has occurred since the reforma- 
tion, and in the preacher and his work we seem to 
have a prophetic warning of the conquests which 
Christianity is yet destined to achieve in the world." 

CHRIST CHURCH. 

That magnificent monument known as Christ 
Church, erected on the Westminster road, at a cost 
of ;^62,ooo, is a worthy sequel to the independent 
enterprise organized as Surrey Chapel, under the 
ministry of the celebrated Rowland Hill. The key- 
note of this aggressive organization contemplated by 
the perpetuation of Surrey Chapel was struck on the 
day the ground was consecrated. Open-air services 
were continuously held from morning until night, and 
many thousands heard the Gospel from the numerous 
speakers that took part in those interesting exercises. 
These services were continued in the open air, Sunday 
and week days, until the building operations interfered. 
The church was opened for divine worship on July 
4th, 1876, an appropriate day for the dedication of the 
Lincoln Tower. For nearly a month daily services 
were held in connection with the dedication. From 
that time until the present the church has proved a 
powerful evangelistic force in southwest London. The 
church service is largely ritualistic, the liturgy of the 
Church of England being used, although free prayer 



WORKING CHURCHES. 177 

forms part of the service. Evangelical ministers of all 
denominations are welcome to its pulpit. "The church 
is not limited to any one denomination, but is in frater- 
nal union with all who love the Lord Jesus Christ in 
sincerity." At the Lord's Supper, on the first Sabbath 
morning of every year, the thousand members renew 
and publicly ratify " The Christian Solemn Covenant 
and Band of Union," in which they confess themselves 
as sinners, declare their faith in God, their reliance on 
him for salvation, and their willingness to consecrate 
themselves to him in the following solemn declaration : 

*' Being not our own, but bought with a price, we present our- 
selves — spirit, soul and body — time, property, influence — a living 
sacrifice unto God. We will endeavor in private and public, in 
our households, in our business, in daily life, in all places, in 
all companies, to act as becometh the Gospel — to promote true 
religion in the hearts of others, to help the needy, comfort the 
sorrowful, and to diminish vice, ungodliness and misery in the 
world, * looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing 
of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.' And knowing our 
own weakness, we implore the help of Him who has said, * My 
grace is sufficient for you.' 

'* In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost, to this our solemn Covenant we do now severally and 
unitedly assent — with a solemn and a hearty Amen." 

In addition to the regular Sabbath services, morn- 
ing and evening in the church, there is a *' People's 
Service'' at three p. m., when a popular order of exer- 
cise and earnest speakers, selected from converted 
workingmen, draw a goodly number of the industrial 
classes who will not attend the other services. At 6.30 
there is a special service for children in Hawkstone 
Hall. After the close of the evening service there 
are three different meetings for prayer in as many 
parts of the commodious buildings. The young men 
meet in the Tower room, the young women in Hawk- 
stone Hall, and the general prayer meeting in the 
Lower Hall. At the same time there is held in front 
of the church, during the summer months, an open-air 



178 THE EVANGELIZATION OE A GREAT CITY, 

service, which often lasts until ten o'clock. This 
meeting, with its harmonium, choir and short speeches, 
attracts numbers of pedestrians from the crowded 
highway into the open space within the railings. 
Similar services are held every night, except Satur- 
day, at the same place. Open-air services are con- 
ducted Sabbath morning at Belvedere road and at 
Meads Row on Sabbath evening. Every night in the 
week there are one or more services at the church or 
the mission stations, conducted either by the pastor, 
the Rev. Newman Hall, his assistant, the evangelist or 
the missionary. 

The church's almshouses will accommodate twenty- 
three almswomen. The Benevolent Society, whose 
history dates back more than a hundred years, is com- 
posed of members who visit among the poor and 
afflicted, without reference to their creed and who 
administer to their physical and spiritual needs. The 
society also supports a missionary who nurses the 
sick poor in their homes. The Female Clothing 
Society enables poor and deserving mothers to pur- 
chase needful apparel at half price, and the Dorcas 
Society cares for sick mothers and children. The 
Christian Instruction Socie4:y visits the common lodg- 
ing-houses in the neighborhood of the Mint borough, 
holds services therein among the tramp population, 
and distributes quantities of illustrated religious 
papers. The School of Industry clothes and educates 
fifty girls and prepares them for domestic service. In 
connection with the mission for the elevation of the 
working classes, an evangelist devotes his time among 
the workingmen and women of the district. Services 
are held in mission halls, workshops and in the houses 
of the industrial classes. Free entertainments and pop- 
ular concerts are given every Monday evening during 
the winter, which are largely attended by the laboring 
classes. 



WORKING CHURCHES, 179 

The young people are well organized into temper- 
ance, literary and Christian societies, and every mem- 
ber may find a sphere of usefulness in the auxiliaries 
of the Bible and of the tract and mission societies, or 
in one of the several mission stations supported by the 
church. 

ST. John's square chapel. 

Clerkenwell is a parish in central London, sur- 
rounded by blocks of model dwellings, six, seven and 
eight stories high, one of which houses a population 
of fifteen hundred, and another of two thousand, souls, 
and all crowded with families of the working classes. 
It is the region of breweries, distilleries, cattle markets 
and warehouses, which give employment to the multi- 
tudes that crowd the district. Near by is Clerkenwell 
Green, the hustings of every form of social and political 
agitation. In the midst of this population is located 
the St. John Square Wesleyan Chapel, whose exist- 
ence, for many years, was unknown beyond the con- 
fines of its immediate neighborhood, but whose fame 
now has spread, not only throughout London, but 
also throughout Great Britain, because of its success 
in reaching the masses. Looking through physical 
eyes only, the prospect of building up a strong church 
from such material as was at hand was by no means 
encouraging ; and less so, when the equipments for 
the work were taken into consideration. We will let 
the energetic pastor, the Rev. Edward Smith, describe 
the chapel as he found it : " It was worse inside than 
out. The windows had seemingly never been cleaned 
since the place was erected, and they were soincrusted 
with dirt as to make the building, in some states of 
the atmosphere, more like a family vault than any- 
thing else. * * * 'jj^g schoolroom is 
underground, low roofed, ill ventilated, and always 
requiring the lighting of the gas. The four vestries 



180 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

would make capital dungeons, so stuffy and dusty are 
they. There can be no doubt that the premises were 
never built for a big business. So forlorn, indeed, 
was the whole concern, that the building was neither 
licensed for marriages or for public worship." 

Into this musty atmosphere came Mr. Smith, at 
the invitation of the City Mission Committee of the 
Wesleyan Conference. The little life he found within 
the structure consisted of about a hundred worshipers 
scattered over the thousand seats, and a small, dis- 
orderly Sabbath school. This little flock, the faithful 
remnant of the fold, amid all the change of shepherds, 
was conservative of the sacred traditions of the past 
and skeptical of the aggressive movement contem- 
plated for the future. In the midst of these frigid 
adherents, the pastor began to build his '' ideal church'* 
that should provide " a home for nearly all sorts of 
natures, and should furnish in this way a multitude of 
affirmative answers to the query : * Can the individual 
rise, though the race sinks down in disgrace ?' " 

From the very inception of the work these reso- 
lutions were firmly adhered to, viz.: There should be 
no sensational means used to attract large congrega- 
tions. There should be no proselyting; no noise and 
rant, no free teas and clothing clubs ; and charitable 
doles should be reduced to a minimum. After three 
years' work along these lines the Central London 
Mission reported the Sabbath evening congregation as 
numbering over a thousand, the largest attended class 
meetings in the Conference, and numerous conversions 
among the hardest sinners in the place. The methods 
were successful in attracting Romanists, skeptics, 
drunkards and Sabbath desecrators to the meetings, 
who were saved and became teachers in the Sabbath 
school and witnesses for Jesus. The change wrought 
is seen in their joyful countenances, in their neat 
appearance, in their happy homes, in their devout 



WORKING CHURCHES. 181 

reverence and in their ready contributions, amounting 
to i^iooo yearly, for the support of the ordinances. 

Well may we ask the secret of this success. It is 
to be found in the effort required of every member to 
do some personal work for Christ. After months of 
discouragement, the concentrated efforts of pastor 
and people began to be felt upon the godless popu- 
lation. As men and women were converted they were 
put to work to reach others. We find them distribut- 
ing invitations to the services among their neighbors, 
visiting the public houses to hunt up former com- 
panions, bringing their fellow-workmen to the church, 
holding open-air meetings and marching the gathered 
congregation to the service. Once the strangers are 
gathered in, they are made to feel so much at home 
that they come again. The service is made very 
attractive, the singing hearty, the sermon short and 
interesting. 

For two winters '* Pleasant Evenings for the 
People " have been held, when an attractive musical 
and literary entertainment was presented. This drew 
some who could not otherwise be brought within the 
chapel's influence. The entertainments, however, were 
so distracting to the religious work that they were 
finally abandoned. Other social experiments, such as 
a reading-room, girls' parlor and recreation classes, 
were tried, with similar results. So that all entice- 
ments and charitable inducements were abandoned 
entirely, and the staff of workers depended solely upon 
the power of the Gospel, carried from house to house, 
from man to man, by tract and testimony in word and 
deed, and by the faithful preaching of the Word. 
Every impression is carefully followed up. At the 
close of every service an opportunity is given inquirers 
to meet the pastor ; and in this way many have been 
led to immediate decision. 

In answer to a question, " Is the work steady?'* Mr. 
Smith writes : " Steady as time itself. There is nothing 



182 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

of the fit and start about it. For thirty months there 
has been a gradual accretion of converts. * * * 
Hardly a street or set of buildings, big or little, but 
has yielded results. For some of them we waited 
long and worked hard, but they came at last." 

THE EAST LONDON TABERNACLE. 

The Rev. Archibald G. Brown gathers the largest 
congregation of working people to be found in London 
— except Mr. Spurgeon — -and the latter does not 
reach the low stratum where the former labors for 
souls. This sanctuary is situated in the centre of East 
London, surrounded by a dense mass of people, 
industrious enough if they could only secure employ- 
ment. They are ground down in abject poverty, 
crowded into single rooms, and starved under the 
*' sweating " system. Many, giving up all hope and 
effort to better their condition, have abandoned them- 
selves to the benevolent societies, sinking lower and 
lower until they reach the sediment of society and are 
hopelessly lost ! Some idea of the neighborhood may 
be formed from the following condensed census, re- 
ported by the missionaries of the Tabernacle : " Three 
hundred and forty rooms yielded nearly two hundred 
and sixty families or, in square figures, twelve hundred 
and forty-four human beings." To save these despair- 
ing people, before they sink beyond the reach of help, 
is the work of Mr. Brown and his co-laborers. A 
commodious church, seating three thousand, has been 
erected, and is filled twice every Sabbath by a typical 
congregation of East Enders," who assemble to hear 
the man who seeks to lift them upon a higher plane of 
existence. 

Mr. Brown is assisted by several missionaries, a 
Bible woman and a medical missionary, employed in 
visiting daily from room to room, amidst the shocking 



Working churches, 183 

misery and indescribable wretchedness of these rickety 
tenements. No family can escape the vigilance of 
these visitors. Thus thousands have the Gospel 
preached and prayer offered in their miserable abodes. 
Repeated visits win their confidence, and importunate 
invitations secure their presence at the Sabbath 
services. 

Partly to relieve the pressure upon the Tabernacle, 
and partly to serve as a stepping-stone to the church 
service, four neat, comfortable chapels have been 
erected in the squalid little streets where the multi- 
tudes live. Around each hall there clusters a complete 
organization for evangelistic work. Besides the Gospel 
services there are mothers* meetings, Bands of Hope, 
prayer meetings, house-to-house visitation, rescue 
work, benevolent and thrift societies. Into the mis- 
sion halls the visitors gather the women, often without 
bonnets and shawls, and the men in shirt sleeves and 
shabby clothes. From the simple services held in the 
halls many are encouraged to attend the services in 
the Tabernacle, where they find as cordial a welcome 
and as interesting a service as at the missions. And 
scarcely a communion season passes but that numbers 
of these lost prodigals take their places in the family of 
God. 

In such a work, and among such a people, there is 
a large scope for discretionary benevolence ; and the 
efficient and faithful work of the missionaries among 
the people gives them peculiar opportunities of dis- 
cerning the worthy, who are most likely to be over- 
looked in promiscuous charity. The help given is 
such as to enable them to help themselves. While 
bread, rice, potatoes and groceries are furnished to the 
starving, and clothing to the naked, there are tools 
furnished the mechanic, sewing-machines and mangles 
for the women, whereby they may earn their daily 
bread. We notice, among the yearly expenditures, such 
pathetic items as " providing a man with an artificial 



184 THE EVANGELIZATION OP A GREAT CITY, 

hand, with hook and knife." An "artificial leg" is 
purchased for a poor woman, to enable her to walk to 
her daily work without crutches ; and still another is 
'' helped to buy a donkey." This means, reading be- 
tween the lines, a happy Christian — once a reprobate — 
now earning an honest living for himself and family. 
Other amounts have been expended for keeping and 
training girls for service, and for employing the people 
in making garments for their poor neighbors, and for 
emigrating some to the colonies. The soup kitchen 
furnishes a cheap dinner for a penny and, during its 
first winter season, ;£"270 in copper pennies were taken 
over the counter, representing hundreds of families who 
were fed with a substantial soup dinner at a trifling 
cost. 

There are girls' cottages at Sheering, where eleven 
little girls, rescued from the evils of the streets, form a 
happy family ; here, also, is a Bible woman, employed 
to work among the villagers. The seaside home at 
Heme Bay, affords a resting-place for those East End 
toilers whose health has suffered under the strain of 
the " sweaters." It is patronized by shop girls, needle- 
women, servants, mechanics and their wives, who seek 
for a breath of fresh air during the summer, away from 
the stifling atmosphere of the crowded city. Here, 
also, the Tabernacle staff meet yearly for spiritual con- 
ference, and many tired Christian toilers find rest and 
refreshment for soul and body. 

The latest addition to the benevolent adjuncts of 
the Tabernacle is the " Christian Buildings," formerly 
known as the notorious " Hawthorne Dwellings," 
which have been purchased and thoroughly renovated, 
and fitted up for the accommodation of Christian 
widows and aged couples, where they can domicile 
with congenial neighbors and escape the harsh treat- 
ment of unscrupulous landlords. The expenditure for 
this extensive mission work during the year, including 
the purchase of the buildings, was above ;^5000. 



CHAPTER XV. 

GOSPEL TEMPERANCE. 

nPHE Blue Ribbon movement, under the advocacy 
-*- of Mr. William Noble, at the Standard Theatre, 
Shoreditch, a score of years ago, resulted in the estab- 
lishment of Hoxton Hall, that successful centre for the 
spread of Gospel temperance. Its influence has spread 
into every nook and cranny of London's lower life. 
During the first three years of its history there were 
750,000 persons in the metropolis who signed the 
pledge at Hoxton Hall. Its creed has but two canons 
— first, total abstinence, as the only cure for and pre- 
vention of drunkenness; and second, the Gospel of 
Christ, as the only way for redemption from sin. Add 
to this doctrine the personal efforts of an earnest staff 
of workers, and we have the secret of the mission's 
success. 

Anyone familiar with the neighborhood need not 
be told that it is a hard field to work. And yet the 
interesting methods of Hoxton Hall attract good con- 
gregations every night in the week, and several times 
on the Sabbath. These services include the following 
meetings and membership agencies : 

Meetings. — Sunday, services at 11 and 7.30, preceded by 
prayer meetings ; Monday, Gospel temperance meeting ; Wed- 
nesday, popular social evening ; Thursday, Gospel temperance 
meeting ; Friday, prayer, praise and testimony meeting; Satur- 
day, popular concert. 

The Help-One-Another Society. — For Women : Weekly 
meetings in the lower hall on Mondays, 8 p. m. Monthly tea 
on first Monday. 

The Help-Myself Society. — For men : Weekly meetings in 
the lower hall on Tuesdays, 8.30 p. M. Monthly tea on the last 
Tuesday. 



186 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

The Girls' Guild of Good Life. — Weekly parlor meetings on 
Tuesdays from 8 P. M. in large hall. Elocution, music, cookery 
and Bible classes. 

The Youths' Union. — Weekly meetings in lower hall, Wed- 
nesdays, from 8.30 p. M. Clubs of various kinds, and gymnasium. 

The Band of Hope. — Meetings every Thursday at 7 p. m. in 
large hall. The Men's Platform Band on Thursday, 8.30 p. M. 
in Committee room. The Men's Bible Class meets on Sunday 
at 3 p. M., in Lockhart's Club Room, and the Women's Bible 
Class at the same hour, in the committee room. 

The Drum and Fife Band meets Fridays at 8 p. m. 

Children's Sunday service at 10 A. m.; School, 2.45 p. m. 

The Hall Stewards' Quarterly Tea Meeting on the third 
Saturday of June, September, December and March. 

In addition to the agencies at Hoxton Hall, there 
are deputations sent out to hold meetings in different 
parts of the city. A hall is rented, or a large marquee 
is erected, and special efforts are made by the distri- 
bution of temperance literature and the personal visita- 
tion of the shops, factories and homes, to bring the 
working classes under the influence of the services. 
In the mission at Canningtown last year, 5230 pledges 
were taken ; at Highbury over two thousand ; and at 
the Portman Rooms very many of the youth in the 
West End commercial houses were enrolled among its 
members. 

The publication department issues yearly thirty 
thousand copies of the Gospel Temperance Monthly, 
and circulates weekly two thousand copies of The 
Struggle, the Hoxton Hall organ. It supplies books, 
with detachable pledges, for the use of members, and 
occasional papers on temperance subjects. The book 
stall has on sale the various temperance publications, 
and the free library affords healthy literature. 

An interesting feature of the work is the Saturday 
night entertainments, which counteract the influence 
of the low concert saloons that infest the neighborhood. 
It attracts large numbers of those who cannot be 
drawn into a religious service. At the close of the 



GOSPEL TEMPERANCE, 187 

programme, which concludes with a temperance 
address, an after meeting is held for all who desire 
to sign the pledge. 

First impressions are zealously followed up. The 
new recruits are carefully nourished. Two mission- 
aries, one among the women and another among the 
men, are employed to help the young converts in their 
new purpose by constant visitation and spiritual help. 
A company of men, and another of women, are banded 
together for personal effort throughout the neighbor- 
hood. They have distributed fifty thousand Gospel 
temperance tracts on Saturday and Sabbath nights, 
among the frequenters of bar-rooms and dwellings 
of the intemperate. 

At a recent anniversary meeting presided over by 
Mr. W. J. Palmer, J. P., of Reading, (who from the 
beginning has supported the work largely from his 
own private purse at an annual cost of ^looo,) there 
was sufficient evidence that the work paid : not so 
much from the encouraging array of statistics of meet- 
ings and pledges and members, but from the testimo- 
nies of men and women who were living witnesses of 
the salvation, brought to them through the Gospel 
temperance messages heard at Hoxton Hall. The 
closing words of the speech of Mr. Jones, the chair- 
man of the popular meeting held on Wednesday 
nights, voiced the sentiment of both the rescued and 
the rescuers on that occasion. He said : 

*' That having for some years taken an active part in the 
work of Hoxton Hall, he had every opportunity of obtaining 
facts which enabled him to say that the missionary spirit and 
influence emanating from this centre of God's work of Gospel 
temperance was second to none in London. It had revolu- 
tionized a great many of the working classes, not only in this 
district, but wherever its far-reaching arm of help and advocacy 
had been stretched throughout the country. If we could get the 
working classes to sign the pledge, and study this important 
question, it would impart new hopes to many hearts, and start 
springs of usefulness from the pent-up talent with which God 



188 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

had endowed them. We went forth with the Gospel of our Lord 
and Saviour in one hand, and the pledge of total abstinence in 
the other, and God had abundantly blessed us." 

Other organizations are vigorously advancing the 
temperance cause along the same lines. The Band 
of Hope is a society of young persons who sign a 
pledge to abstain from all intoxicating drink and 
tobacco. Many London Sabbath schools have 
branches among their scholars. Meetings are held 
weekly, the exercises are opened with religious serv- 
ices, and closed with prayer. Occasional prayer meet- 
ings are held, and special sermons preached for the 
bands, thus reminding the members of their entire 
dependence upon Almighty God for strength and 
success. There are seven hundred of these bands, 
with a hundred thousand members, into whose young 
minds are being instilled the profit of abstinence, not 
only from intoxicating liquors, but also from every 
appearance of evil. 

The Young Abstainers' Union was organized in 1 879 
for the purpose of promoting total abstinence among 
the sons and daughters of the upper and middle classes 
who were not reached by the Bands of Hope. 
The officers must be total abstainers and avowed 
believers in the Holy Scriptures and our Lord Jesus 
Christ. All the meetings of the society are opened and 
closed with the reading of the Scriptures and prayer. 
The society supports two cots in the Temperance 
Hospital and a monthly magazine for gratuitous 
distribution among the members. 




CHAPTER XVI. 

WOMEN'S WORK FOR WOMEN. 

XT EARLY five decades of the present century passed 
^ ^ before women's influence in evangelistic work 
was encouraged or appreciated. The Evangelical 
Revival called for teachers in the Sabbath schools 
and visitors among working classes, who were becom- 
ing more and more alienated from the church. Her 
sympathetic nature soon made her usefulness felt in 
these spheres, and her influence was soon invoked in 
behalf of other departments of mission work. 

The first charitable sisterhood in London was 
formed in 1845, and ten years later another sister- 
hood was organized for nursing the poor in their 
homes. In 1850 we find the Hon. Mrs. Monsell and 
Mrs. Vicars, two excellent Christian women, conse- 
crating their time, talents and means to reclaim fallen 
women ; and in 1 849 Elizabeth Fry instituted her 
refuge for the reception of discharged female prisoners. 
Other philanthropic institutions rapidly sprang up 
under the Samaritan touch of women, until their labors 
embraced every department of benevolent and evan- 
gelistic work. 

These ministering angels go forth in the morning 
as Bible women. Scripture readers, nursing sisters, 
deaconesses and rescue workers, with their Bibles, 
tracts, books, medicines and food, and spend the day 
among the inmates of hospitals and asylums, among 
the workers in the factories and dwellers in the tene- 
ments, ministering to their souls and bodies and pro- 
claiming, by precept and example, the Gospel of 



190 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

Christ This spiritual influence is the leaven that 
will regenerate and reform society. 

We have incidentally shown, in previous chapters, 
the conspicuous place women's work occupies in 
London's vast mission field. It remains for us to con- 
sider here in detail three of the many philanthropic 
enterprises controlled entirely by women, namely: 
The Elizabeth Fry Refuge, the London Bible and 
Domestic Mission and the Young Woman's Christian 
Association. Among these numerous agencies, the 
work in behalf of women convicts is diligently prose- 
cuted. Visitors to the lobby of the House of Com- 
mons are struck with the picture of Mrs. Elizabeth 
Fry, the pioneer in the rescue of discharged female 
prisoners. Upon the death of that estimable lady 
(whose charity led her daily to stand at the prison 
gate to meet the discharged prisoners) the institution 
founded by her was established as a refuge, where, for 
forty years, her faithful successors have been laboring 
for the reformation of these branded women. During 
this time, there have been received into the refuge 
three thousand women, whose ages ranged from six- 
teen to forty years — many of them servants, convicted 
of petty offenses. They are received from the metro- 
politan prisons, or remanded from the police courts to 
the care of the home. Some long-term convicts, whose 
good conduct and penitence while in prison evidence a 
desire to regain their former respectability, are, by an 
arrangement with the Home Office, sent to the refuge 
to complete the last nine months of their term. The 
inmates spend from three to twelve months, during 
which time they are taught, by precept and example, 
the ennobling power of the Christian life. They are 
instructed in laundry work, sewing and household 
duties and, at the expiration of a satisfactory probation, 
a situation is obtained for them. Seventy-six women, 
on an average, annually pass through the refuge, many 



WOMEN'S WORK AMONG WOMEN. 191 

of whom, now honest and respectable, testify that the 
first step of their present prosperity was taken when 
they entered the Elizabeth Fry Refuge.* 

Mrs. Raynard, a consecrated Christian woman, 
struck with the wretchedness and godlessness of the 
inhabitants of St. Giles, conceived the idea of employ- 
ing a poor, godly woman of that district, familiar with 
the ways and wants of her neighbors, to go into the 
homes in that district and tiy to bring the mothers 
under religious influence. In 1857 the Bible and 
Domestic Mission was formed, with one Scripture 
reader. In a single court she called on forty persons, 
not one of whom had a Bible. During the first six 
months of her visitation she sold among these 
wretched creatures three hundred and fifty copies of 
the Scriptures, and influenced many mothers to attend 
a weekly meeting for prayer. The success of Marion 
encouraged an increase in the number of the Bible 
women. Year by year the work developed, until the 
staff now numbers one hundred and fifty visitors, all of 
whom have been carefully selected from the working 
classes as having had, in the school of experience, the 
best training for reaching their unsaved sisters. 

The methods of work are as follows : The poorest 
parishes of the city are divided up into districts, in each 
of which a Bible woman is placed. She makes her 
home there, and becomes a neighbor of the people 
among whom she is to labor. Over each Bible woman 
is a lady superintendent — " a Christian sister from the 
educated classes " — who supervises her work, meets 
her frequently for prayer and consultation, receives the 
collected pence and reports on the work every quarter 
to the central society. She also presides over the 

* Another branch of this rescue work is that conducted by the Royal 
Female Philanthropic Society, which receives young women, from fifteen 
years upwards, who have been convicted and imprisoned for a first 
offense. 



192 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

weekly mothers* meeting, and visits among the people 
after the way has been opened up for her. The Bible 
woman may be seen any day with her neat bag, in 
which she carries specimens of Bibles, going in and 
out among the courts and alleys of London and visit- 
ing from door to door among the tenements. The 
winning smile and sweet voice of this neighborly 
woman disarm hostility and secure her admission 
into the family circle. Her womanly tact soon opens 
up the way for further advance. She learns that they 
have no Bible in the house. The specimens are pro- 
duced from her bag. They are so cheap and beautiful ; 
and the easy method of payment of a penny a week 
induces the mother to purchase a copy. In this way 
two hundred and seventy- five thousand copies of the 
Scriptures have been sold. The Bible woman then 
reads a portion of the Book to her, and asks if they 
may not unite in prayer. The installment plan serves, 
not only as an easy way to buy a Bible, but also as an 
occasion for frequent calls to make the collections. In 
this way they both become quite neighborly. After 
several calls the Bible woman will show her how to 
prepare an inviting supper* from her scanty store for 
the home-coming husband. The next visit she will 
help her tidy up her room, wash the children, and 
again surprise the husband with a tasteful supper. 
Soon she knows all the needs of the family and, before 
they are aware of it, she has won the hearts of the 
parents and the love of the children. 

The father, attracted by the changed appearance 
of his home, is led to spend fewer nights at the public 
house and more with his family. He is induced to 
attend a service at the mission, where Christian men 



* The first Bible woman purchased forty strong iron saucepans and 
loaned them, ^^ith instructions for the preparation of nourishing soup, 
among seventy families who had no cooking utensils. These pans were 
kept in such constant demand that they were soon worn out. 



WOMEN'S WORK FOR WOMEN, 193 

interest themselves in him. The children are gathered 
into Sabbath schools ; the older girls, rough and 
untaught, are interested in sewing and cooking 
classes, and the mother is introduced into the mother's 
meeting. This is held once a week in the afternoon, 
and the time is occupied in religious exercise, instruc- 
tion in the Bible, and domestic duties. They are 
taught to read the Scriptures, to cut out garments, to 
prepare plain, wholesome food, to make their homes 
cheerful and to cultivate habits of thrift, by contribut- 
ing a few pence per week to the clothing, coal and 
boot fund, which supplies these necessaries during the 
winter months. Since the society's organization, there 
have been collected, mostly in pennies, from the sale 
of Bibles and for the clothing club, upwards of 
^150,000. But this is a small item, compared with 
the habits of thrift acquired, the spiritual lives begotten 
and the pride in the home engendered among a people 
who were little removed from a state of barbarism. 

So fast did the work grow that the Bible woman 
could not comply with all the demands upon her time, 
and in addition nurse the sick. To relieve her of this 
work the Bible woman's nurse was sent out to admin- 
ister to the sick and suffering among the poor. She 
is equipped for this service, first as a Bible woman, 
and afterwards as an apprentice in the medical and 
surgical wards of a hospital. There are now seventy 
trained nurses stationed in as many districts. They 
wear a neat, plain uniform, which assures them pro- 
tection in the worst parts of the city, and is a safe 
introduction among the afflicted. She is supplied with 
all needful appliances for a sick room, together with 
cereal foods and a small sum of money to expend for 
necessary nursing food. All service is rendered 
gratuitously, and only to the sick poor. She spends 
several hours daily among the sick of her district. 
These nurses have attended some six thousand patients 
and made over one hundred and twenty thousand visits. 



194 THE EVANGELIZATION OE A GREAT CITY. 

In addition to the physical and spiritual help ren- 
dered in the homes of the poor, the society supports 
two institutions for homeless factory girls and a dor- 
mitory in Parker street, where homeless girls who 
make a precarious Hving on the streets, chiefly selling 
flowers and watercresses, may enjoy the comforts of a 
Christian home and the sympathy of a '* mother." There 
are also a limited number of girls taken from the homes 
of the poor, and trained for domestic service, for whom 
in their ignorance and rags there would be no hope 
of employment, if the society did not mediate between 
them and the mistress. The large mission hall con- 
nected with the dormitory serves the Bible women 
and nurses for their conference and prayer meetings. 

There are also two Convalescent Homes at South- 
end for poor men and women, whose most needful 
medicines are fresh air and substantial diet, and there 
has been lately added to the nigh perfect equipment 
of the mission a Home of Rest at West Brighton, 
where the tired Bible women and nurses may recuper- 
ate after the exhausting strain of labor among the 
reeking courts of London's stifling atmosphere. 

The Young Women's Christian Association of 
London differs from similar institutions in other 
cities, in the variety of its agencies, the multiplicity of 
branches and the number of its members. It is like 
a tree whose branches ramify into every part of the 
city, and whose fruit can be plucked in every neigh- 
borhood. It has 156 branch associations and a mem- 
bership of sixteen thousand. Young women to the 
number of fourteen hundred take advantage of its 
winter classes, and 5692 women have joined the prayer 
union and have promised to present a daily petition to 
the throne of grace for a blessing upon the associa- 
tion. There are four departments of work, physical, 
mental, social and spiritual. The physical advantages 
include gymnasium exercises and instruction, recreation 



JVOJ/I^.V'S IVORK FOR IVOME.V. 1\)6 

classes with games and plays, affording healthful diver- 
sion from the daily monotony of their busy lives. Aid 
is rendered to the sick and convalescent by sending 
members to the country homes, where change of air 
and nourishing care restore health to their underfed 
and overworked bodies. There were five hundred and 
fifty members thus treated during the past year. The 
association also supports a number of beds in a conva- 
lescent hospital, where members temporarily out of 
work and funds can be cared for. 

A feature of the summer season is the large parties 
of working-girls, under a chaperon, that are taken for a 
day's recreation into the country; the only breath of 
pure air and glimpse of green fields many of them 
have during the year. " I never expected to have such 
a happy day in all my life," was the testimony of a 
shop girl at the close of one of these excursions. 

But the minds of these young women are being 
developed as well as their bodies. Tw^enty-two insti- 
tutions in different parts of the city afford excellent 
advantages in the elementary branches of study. 
French, German, music and drawing are taught. 
There are dress-cutting, cookery and civil-service 
classes, also classes in book-keeping, stenography, 
typewriting, and instruction is given in ambulance 
and nursing work. Examinations take place at stated 
intervals, when the seventy-two prizes are awarded and 
certificates of efficiency are given to all who pass satis- 
factorily. The class instruction is supplemented by the 
work of the home-study department and by lectures 
and addresses at the institutions. The association has 
its own bookrooms for supplying the members with 
all the best literature, and supports a paper with a 
large circulation. 

The social advantages offered at the rooms of the 
Central Association, or any of the 156 branches are 
most wholesome. Any young woman will find a 



196 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

cordial welcome and be introduced to congenial com- 
panions there. She may spend the evening over the 
papers and magazines or in the conversational classes ; 
at the piano, or with the games, or in any of the inno- 
cent amusements offered. If she have no home or be 
in unsuitable lodgings, the association offers her every 
comfort at one of the twenty-two homes located 
through the city, where she will find accommodation 
suited to her station and her purse. The servants' 
homes offer her board and lodging from one shilling 
and six pence per day ; four shillings and six pence 
per day at the Melbeck House for business assistants, 
or ten shillings per day at the Percy rooms for ladies, 
in any of which she will find the care and comforts of 
a Christian home. There are also several restaurants 
and reading-rooms open until ten p. m., where mem- 
bers can lunch and rest during the day and evening. 
Many of the ladies of London, interested in the work 
of the association, open their parlors for the reception 
of members, where they become better acquainted 
with each other and spend social evenings. 

The most important branch of the association's 
work is the spiritual. Indeed, this permeates all other 
departments. Whether they gather for a Bible class, for 
the study of French, for singing, or for a game, they do 
it unto the Lord. What shall we say of the influence 
upon the lives of the young women of the hundred 
Bible classes held every night of the week in various 
parts of the city, of the personal efforts of the workers 
in behalf of the unsaved, and of the various mission 
meetings conducted by members. Not satisfied with 
posting notices in various languages, at hotels, rail- 
road stations, steamboats and elsewhere, to direct 
young women, strangers in London, to the Y. W. C. A., 
the association supports a lady visitor to meet arriving 
trains and ships, and so successful is her work that the 
" stranger's bed " at the central office is seldom with- 



WOMEN'S WORK FOR WOMEN. 197 

out an occupant. Another missionary searches the 
parks for vagrant girls, and also interests the many 
nurses met there in the association's work. Another 
visits the barmaids and waitresses in the London 
restaurants, and another the factory girls and laun- 
dresses, often holding a religious service with them at 
their dinner hour. Excellent work is being done in 
this way, and at the evening classes among the girls 
at the Rochester Institute, and also at the Kinnaird 
rooms, Whitechapel. The experience of one who 
labors in the latter district, in Y. W. C. A. work, has 
given the following gratifying testimony: '' The con- 
duct of the girls, who are among the poorest and 
roughest of their class, could not fail to show what 
can be done for them by kindly Christian influences. 
Many are Prayer Union members, and are showing, 
by consistent lives, what Christ can do for factory 
girls." 



-O'-^gi^^-O-— 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CO-OPERATIVE CHURCH WORK. 

T^HE Church of England devotes much time and 
^ treasure to special evangelistic work among the 
lapsed masses. It is fully alive to its responsibilities, 
and leaves no agency unemployed that will extend its 
field of usefulness. Many of her churches are opened 
every day as retreats, where men and women may 
withdraw from the whirl of bustling hfe for private 
devotion. Two hundred places of worship hold a 
daily service, and 525 celebrate the Holy Communion 
every week. 

The churches are thoroughly equipped for aggress- 
ive efforts. Besides the pastor and assistants, there 
are the lay agents of the numerous guilds, and societies 
organized for every department of evangehstic work, 
and ready to answer the call of the clergy and to 
co-operate with them in their parochial labors. If 
the pastor desires help in a series of special meetings, 
the Parochial Mission will furnish him with a mis- 
sioner to conduct the services. If he wants the dis- 
tricts canvassed, and the poor families interested in the 
meetings, the Domestic Mission will furnish Bible 
women, and the Deaconesses' Home will send deacon- 
esses to go from house to house, and gather the con- 
gregation for the service. If a poor woman is sick, a 
sister is at hand to nurse her and act as her servant 
until she recovers. If a religious demonstration is 
required in the slums, the Church Army, modeled 
after the Salvation Army, but working on strictly 
church lines, is ready to fiunish for parade a uni- 
formed corps, with band and banners for the occasion. 



CO-OPERATIVE CHURCH WORK. 199 



If vagrant children are found upon the streets, the 
Church Home for Waifs and Strays receives them. 
If unfortunate women are met with, the Church Mission 
to the Fallen cares for them. 

The Lay Helpers' Association, with five thousand 
members, assists the clergy in various capacities as 
readers, visitors and teachers. The Church Pastoral 
Aid Society supplies curates or lay helpers in poor 
parishes, where local resources are inadequate to 
supply the rector with an assistant. The London 
Diocesan Home Mission employs thirty missionary 
clergymen in as many districts, each of whom has a 
temporary chapel, that in time will become a vigorous 
church. The Scripture Readers' Association employs 
125 readers, godly and qualified laymen drawn from 
the working people, who labor under the direction 
of the parochial clergy. The Girls' Friendly and 
the Woman's Help Societies make provision for the 
temporal and spiritual wants of their needy sisters. 
The Church of England Temperance Society places its 
missionaries, lecturers and all the resources of the 
society at the call of the rectors. And the Parochial 
Mission Woman's Association, with over one hundred 
female visitors, teaches the wives and mothers of the 
lowest classes purity, thrift, cleanliness and godliness. 
Nor does this list exhaust the various auxiliaries 
co-operating with the clergy of the established church. 

The missions of the universities and the schools, 
established in the most needy parishes of the metro- 
polis, have formed a connecting Hnk between the 
church and the masses. These university missions 
are supported by the members connected with Oxford 
and Cambridge ; while the scholars of Eaton, Harrow, 
Rugby and other preparatory schools support eight 
smaller missions. The following brief outline of the 
Oxford House in Bethnal Green, one of the university 
missions, will show the nature and work of these new 



200 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

enterprises. Oxford House affords a centre for 
religious, social and educational work in the East 
End. The house furnishes a residence for eight 
university men, who can give their whole time, or such 
portions of it as they can spare from their professional 
duties. It serves as a meeting-place for those who 
can come down from the university one or more even- 
ings a week to give assistance, and it forms a centre 
for under-graduates who want to spend a portion 
of their vacation in helping the poor of the East End. 
The work is divided into three departments. The 
religious, social and educational department embraces 
popular Sunday afternoon lectures for the people. 
Sunday schools, Bible classes, district and hospital 
visitation, mission and open-air services, and the publi- 
cation of the Oxford House religious papers for work- 
ingmen. The social department includes workingmen's 
clubs, with weekly classes for secular and religious 
instruction and outdoor recreation; a working-lad's 
institute, with two hundred members; a sanitary aid 
committee. Children's Country Holiday Fund, House 
of Shelter, accommodating one hundred outcast men; 
Boys' Home, Charity Organization Committee and 
University Club co-operative stores. The educational 
department embraces various secular classes, lectures 
and entertainments of an elevating nature. Oxford 
Hall, with a seating capacity of nearly a thousand, 
affords a splendid auditorium for the large gatherings 
on special occasions, and when not occupied for 
services is fitted up with a well-equipped gymnasium. 
The Bishop of Bedford, whose diocese contains a 
million souls, has adopted some novel methods for 
reaching the multitudes so indifferent to religious 
instruction. At the close of the regular Sabbath even- 
ing services, the Bishop encourages the clergy with 
their choirs and helpers to go out upon the streets to 
collect a congregation for a second service. They 



CO-OPERATIVE CHURCH WORK. 201 

make a circuit of the parish, singing hymns, holding 
meetings on the street corners and bringing the people 
thus collected to the church, where an attractive 
Gospel service, suitable to the class gathered together, 
is held at a late hour of the evening. 

Various other devices are used to identify the 
people with the church. Free lectures on Christian 
evidences and church history are delivered. Illustrated 
sermons present the Truth in attractive form. Public 
nurseries, industrial exhibitions, thrift, temperance and 
purity societies draw out the interests of many. No 
opportunity of developing the social, educational and 
recreational agencies for the good of the people is 
rejected, and no experiment is feared that is justified 
by church order and common sense. The Bishop 
of Bedford is now raising a fund of ^15,000 for the 
support of these special evangelistic agencies. He has 
already employed eighty-one clergymen, seven lay 
readers, seventy-four deaconesses, nurses and mission 
women to labor among the poor of the East End. 
During the past ten years, the staff of clergymen has 
been doubled. The number of communicant members 
has largely increased and twelve mission districts have 
been established in neglected and destitute parishes. 

What the Bishop of Bedford's Fund is doing for a 
part of destitute London, the Bishop of London's 
Fund is doing for the entire city. The desire of the 
promoters of this fund is to provide one clergyman for 
every three thousand of the population. The money 
is appropriated to pay curates in the poorest parishes, 
where the incumbent needs assistance, and to provide 
missionary clergymen to labor generally throughout 
the metropolis ; to support deaconesses, nurses and 
missionaries among the poor, and provide missions, 
schools and churches in needy parishes. We append 
the testimony of the Rev. E. B. Penfold, vicar of St. 
Michael's, to the helpfulness of this fund during his 



202 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

missionary experience in Camden Town, which illus- 
trates the evolution of many of London's flourishing 
churches in the poorest parishes : 

*' The parish of St. Michael was formed in 1876 out of that 
part of Camden Town which Mr. Walter Besant says is 
* unspeakably dull.* We have no well-to-do people. Artisans 
and workingmen, postmen and railwaymen, roadsweepers and 
costermongers form our usual population of fifty-two hundred. 
A small endowment and a map with the boundary of the dis- 
trict marked upon it were all I had to begin with. No house, no 
church, no schools, no site, and no vacant piece of ground to be 
found. After some inquiry I took the largest shop I could find, 
cleared out all partitions, turned the kitchen into a chancel and 
the scullery into a vestry, and there for two and a half years held 
daily service. 1 lived above it myself, which had this convenience, 
that if people found me they found the church, and if they found 
the church they found me. In that room 167 adults and chil- 
dren were baptized, and 3350 communions made. It held about 
ninety people, and on one memorable occasion the people sat 
all up the stairs leading to my own rooms. Soon we hired the 
Board schools for Sunday schools ; a parochial mission woman 
began work ; district visitors were slowly found; and various 
societies commenced. 

" At last a sum of money was set apart by the Bishop 
(Bishop Jackson) for the church, and I immediately began to 
treat for a site. Here the Bishop of London's Fund came at 
once to my aid with a liberal grant of ^1500 towards the ^2400 
required. To get a site would have been almost hopeless but 
for this grant. Soon, on part of the site, an iron church 
appeared, the Bishop of London's Fund helping us again, and 
we were able to gather a larger congregation together, ready 
for the new church, the nave of which was consecrated on St. 
Michael's Day, 1881 Still we were in difificulty ; we had no 
place in which to meet except in church, for the Board of 
Works compelled us to pull the iron church down ; so we 
erected a small classroom by the side of the church and waited 
our opportunity, till, some land in the parish having passed into 
the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, they promised 
us a site for mission buildings when the leases fell in. These 
were to cost about ^2000, and the Bishop of London's Fund 
once more came forward with the liberal grant of ^450. Then 
all went well, and though we have not quite paid for them they 
were opened by K. R. H. Princess Mary in December last. Our 
Sunday schools now number nearly seven hundren children. 
Our Temperance Society, Band of Hope, Mothers' Meetings, 



CO-OPERATIVE CHURCH WORK. 203 



Lantern Services, Girls' Friendly Society, Motherb' Union, 
Women's Bible Class, Girls' Sewing Class, Penny Bank, Parish 
Library, Parish Gatherings, Occasional Entertainments, are all 
finding shelter there. In the basement we feed the poor and 
hungry children in our Soup Kitchen. 

It is clear that all this could not have been done without 
the aid of excellent clergy, sisters, mission women and other 
helpers ; at each point, however, it has been the grants of the 
Bishop of London's Fund which have helped to begin the work, 
and it is when work is beginning that funds are most needed 
and hardest to get. They have given quickly and given liber- 
ally. The chancel of the church has yet, indeed, to be built, 
and it is perplexing to know how, as work increases, the funds 
to carry it on are to be found ; both workers and money must 
in such a parish come from outside ; but, with the help of the 
Bishop of London's Fund, a new parish has been built up and 
the buildings most necessary for the work of the church have 
been supplied." 




CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE CONGREGATIONAL UNION. 

nPHE "Bitter Cry of Outcast London/' issued as a 
-*- result of the inquiry of the Congregational 
Union into the spiritual, moral and temporal destitu- 
tion of parts of the metropolis, sent a thrill of pity and 
pain throughout the Christian world. No society 
responded more quickly to that cry than the Congre- 
gational Union itself An effort was at once started to 
establish, in the worst parts of London, mission halls, 
as centres of refuge for the destitute, where the deserv- 
ing poor could obtain medicine, food, clothing, and 
have the Gospel preached to them by word and deed. 
From these centres a systematic plan of visitation was 
organized, covering several districts. Eight of these 
halls have already been established, four of which are 
in connection with and under the supervision of Con- 
gregational churches. 

Three months after the *' Bitter Cry" was pub- 
lished the first of these halls was opened in Collier's 
Rents, a typical part of outcast London. At first the 
people were shy of the generous invitations pressed 
upon them. But when once convinced, by the many 
acts of sympathy and kindness, of the friendship of 
these Christian workers, they came in large numbers 
to the services. Every effort is made to supply the 
temporal wants of the people. To this end, enter- 
tainments and illustrated lectures are provided. Tem- 
perance and rescue work is pushed forward; free 
breakfasts and dinners for poor children attending 
board schools are given daily, and clothes, boots, 
blankets and food are distributed to the needy. 



THE CONGREGATIONAL UNION 205 

Passing by the various meetings and agencies at work 
at Collier's Rents we hasten to describe the breakfasts 
for the homeless, a novel feature of the mission work. 
For many years the Congregational Union has devoted 
much time to visiting the common lodging-houses 
and the haunts of the destitute poor in the south 
of London. In order, however, that the utterly desti- 
tute might not be neglected, it was felt that some pro- 
vision should be made for a class who, for want of a 
few pence, are compelled to pass the night wandering 
about the streets, or sleeping on the bridges, in the 
markets, under the arches, or on seats along the 
embankment. They must be sought out in the early 
morning, before daylight drives them out of their 
lairs. Accordingly, every Sabbath morning, soon 
after Saturday midnight, the searchers start out upon 
their rounds. They go out in two divisions. One 
party works from the east, westward to London Bridge 
and across to Southwark ; while another party works 
eastward from Hyde Park Corner to Southwark, over 
Blackfriar's Bridge. Following the latter route we will 
get a glimpse of this midnight evangelism. 

In Piccadilly a man and his wife are met seated on 
the stone coping of the park railing. They have 
walked from Windsor to try and secure work in 
London. They gladly accept the invitation given, 
and immediately start in the direction of the hall. In 
Trafalgar Square another man and woman are met, 
the latter in tears. They have been put out of their 
lodgings that night for one week's arrear of rent! 
Here, also, are several people huddled up in a 
corner to shelter themselves from the cold night wind. 
All present the same pitiful story of no work. Many 
have recently come from the country, spent their little 
saving in trying to secure employment, and are now 
without both. They rub their eyes upon hearing of a 
warm breakfast, and betake themselves to Collier's 



206 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

Rents. On Blackfriar's Bridge, under the shelter 
of the high buttresses, huddled closely together in 
twos and fours, thirty-three men and women are 
found, who eagerly follow the dispenser of the wel- 
come invitation to a warm room aud something to eat. 
At Southwark street the first division is met, and they 
report having found 149 on London Bridge alone. 
But, even in the face of inability to feed them all, the 
entire company are marched to the mission. These, 
added to those who have already arrived, swell the 
number to 255 men and women — poor, wretched and 
homeless wanderers, gathered that night from the 
highways and byways. There are many more out- 
side the hall who cannot be accommodated. They are 
told to come back in the afternoon for bread. There 
are wanting three hours yet to six o'clock — the time 
for breakfast — and the company are told to sleep. The 
invitation falls like cruel mockery upon our ears. 
Sleep in this crowded room and fetid atmosphere ! 
And yet, how readily they comply. Soon their heavy 
breathing indicates their appreciation of the luxury. A 
few hours' sleep in a warm spot, sheltered from the 
wind, where the voice of the vigilant policeman cannot 
startle them with his gruff " move on," is indeed peace- 
ful slumber. What a heartrending, woe-begone sight 
is presented under the low, flickering gas jets! What 
autobiographies these miserable creatures could nar- 
rate! What sad misfortunes have overtaken them, 
brought on not so much by faults of their own, as by 
conditions over which many had no control. The 
majority of them came up to London from the prov- 
inces to seek for work. You ask, why do they not go 
to the casual ward ? Many don't know of such a 
place. Some have gone, but found it closed or already 
full, and were turned away. Others won't go, because 
of past experiences there. A policeman is asked to 
look over the sleepers, and he testifies that there are 
*' none of his customers among them." 



THE CONGREGATIONAL UNION. 2u7 

At SIX o'clock the bell is rung. There is no need 
of a second call to bring the guests to breakfast, which 
has been prepared during the hours from midnight to 
morning. Each guest receives a bag containing large 
beef sandwiches, which many carefully divide, storing 
part away for future needs, and a steaming mug of 
coffee. After their appetites are satisfied a short serv- 
ice is held, at which they all willingly remain. A 
few short prayers are offered, several hymns are sung, 
and a Gospel address is made. By seven o'clock this 
early morning meeting, the strangest and the saddest 
that will be seen in London that Sabbath day, is 
brought to a close. Then the workers come face-to- 
face with their guests. They invite them to return in 
the afternoon, and offer to assist in securing them 
employment. The case of each individual is carefully 
inquired into. The deserving ones are followed up, 
and assisted into a fair way of making a living. Not 
a few who have been reclaimed render effective service 
in this patrol work, and in the multiform and far- 
reaching efforts of the Congregational Union for 
seeking the lost. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
THE WESLEYAN FORWARD MOVEMENT. 

T^HE publication of the little pamphlet, entitled 
-*- the " Bitter Cry of Outcast London " fell upon 
the ears of the churches with startling effect, and 
called forth a ready response from all denomina- 
tions. The Forward Movement among the Wesleyan 
Methodists resulted in the establishment of several 
successful missions in districts hitherto neglected. The 
first of these was planted in the East End, in that 
notorious neighborhood of High street, Shadwell, near 
the London docks, where multitudes of idle, drunken, 
lustful men and women frequent the labyrinth of streets, 
courts and alleys that ramify in all directions. The 
physical, moral and social condition of these people 
is simply terrible. No language could adequately 
portray the crime and lawlessness, the brutality and 
blasphemy, witnessed in this place. Here the East 
Wesleyan Mission began its labors in 1885, and the 
commodious St. George chapel in Cable street was 
placed at the service of the committee. 

Two men, the Rev. Peter Thompson and a lay 
helper, whose evangelistic zeal was known in all the 
churches, were placed in charge. They were assisted 
by the few members who still remained with the chapel 
and several earnest volunteer workers from other 
churches. During the entensive alterations necessary 
to adapt the chapel to its aggressive function, a thor- 
ough house-to-house canvass was made of the neigh- 
borhood. 

The new enterprise was thoroughly advertised, 
attractive services were introduced, many organiza- 
tions were developed for the improvement of the 



THE WESLE VAN FOR WARD MO VEMENT, 209 



community, and no effort was spared to bring the 
people under the influence of the church. For five 
years these Christians have been faithfully laboring in 
this unpromising field with remarkable results. Serv- 
ices have been held almost nightly, and many souls 
have been saved. 

The success at St. George chapel encouraged the 
committee to open several additional stations in other 
parts of this depraved district. Among these was the 
conversion of the White Swan premises, consisting 
of a notorious public house and two music halls, into 
mission rooms. A correspondent in the London Echo^ 
upon the opening night of this mission, thus writes : 
"If Origen were again in the flesh he would be stimu- 
lated to renewed hope of the conversion of the devil. 
To-day the White Swan, better known as Paddy's 
Goose, once one of the vilest dance-houses in Ratcliff 
Highway, is to be opened as a Mission Hall by the 
Wesleyan Methodist Home Mission, which has its 
headquarters at St. George's Chapel, Cable street, E. 
There will be several services during the day, at which 
Mr. George Williams, of the Y. M. C. A., and other 
well-known men will take part. The public house has 
now been closed for some time, and has been thor- 
oughly cleansed, renovated and adapted for its new 
work. The neighborhood, though much improved 
during the past fifteen or twenty years, is still unspeak- 
ably bad Prostitution and juvenile 

depravity are rife. Robberies are of nightly occur- 
rence, and a gang of thieves calling themselves ' The 
Forty ' infest the surrounding streets." 

On the opening day of this transformed " den 
of blackguards and thieves — a centre of iniquity that 
even scandalized Ratcliff Highway" — there were 
meetings morning, afternoon and evening. Every 
night in the week since then. Gospel services have 
been held, where are gathered an audience, composed 



210 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 



of degraded creatures, who appear to those on the 
platform "a moving mass of corruption." The meet- 
ings are often interrupted by questions, comments, and 
at times turbulent scenes. '* Nevertheless," the testi- 
mony of the workers is that "wonderful power from 
God has rested on many of the meetings; men have 
fallen on the floor in agony of soul, and remarkable 
conversions have been witnessed." Two weeks after 
the services were inaugurated, the late manager of the 
music halls at '' Paddy's Goose," to the wonder of the 
motley gathering, who had often seen him in a differ- 
ent role on that platform, addressed the assemblage 
as a converted man. He closed his exhortation with 
these words : 

** I am now only getting twenty shillings per week. 
My home is poor, but clean and comfortable. We are 
happy, clothed and fed. As manager of this music 
hall I used to get six pounds, ten shillings a week ; 
but there was no happiness, no comfort, for in those 
days I was never properly sober. Now I have a clear 
head, clean heart, and am happy with my wife and 
family in my humble home." 

There are now sustained at this branch all the 
aggressive agencies of a well-equipped mission, 
together with a coffee-bar, reading-rooms and evening 
classes. 

Another extension, similar to the above, was made 
on the corner of Wellclose Square, near the Tower 
of London. The Old Mahogany Bar and Wilton's 
Music Hall, with three adjoining houses, have been 
taken over by the mission at a cost of ^6000. This 
den has been transformed into a coffee palace, with a 
hall accommodating 1000 persons. 

The East End Wesleyan Mission now has six such 
stations in different parts of the district, struggling 
manfully, in the face of much opposition, to raise these 
degraded men and women to a noble life. 



THE WESLE VAN FOR WARD MO VEMENT, 211 

The London West Central Mission is another 
branch of the " Forward Movement." The West End 
was a part of the metropoUs for which the Wesleyan 
Communion had done less than '' any other spot in 
England or her colonies." It was found upon investi- 
gation that the spiritual destitution in the West End 
was as great as in the East End, although inhabited 
by a different class of society. The West centre 
of London is the great commercial district. Here 
dwell the great army of youth employed in the large 
warehouses. Here are the Houses of Parliament, 
clubs and theatres, and here the social evil is painfully 
prevalent. The well-to-do have moved to the suburbs, 
and the poorer classes have crowded in. " Every 
night when the splendid music halls in the neighbor- 
hood of Piccadilly Circus are closed, 20,000 pleasure- 
seekers, many of the most licentious type, are turned 
out into the streets." 

To undertake the work on a scale adequate to the 
needs, both money and workers were imported. Two 
ministers and three lay workers settled down in West 
Central London. St. James' Hall, the largest, most 
central and most popular public building available was 
secured and, on October 21, 1887, was opened with 
an inaugural sermon by Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. On 
the following Sabbath afternoon a conference was held, 
and in the evening an evangelistic service was con- 
ducted by the Superintendent, Rev. Hugh Price 
Hughes, and in the morning a sermon was preached 
by his colleague, the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse. This 
has been the usual order of the Sabbath services ever 
since. There are also Friday morning and evening 
services at the Princess Hall, on the opposite side 
of Piccadilly. 

Wardour Hall, close by, is the centre of evangelistic 
work among the poor of Soho. This building was 
formerly a Congregational chapel, but the removal 



212 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 



of members from the neighborhood left it without men 
and women for the aggressive work required. It was 
turned over by the Congregationalists to the Metho- 
dists for missionary purposes. That the latter have 
proved faithful to the trust is shown by the services 
conducted there. On Sabbath a prayer meeting is 
held at eight o'clock, a Young People's service at 
eleven, Worker's Tea at five, prayer meeting at half- 
past five, open-air service at six, and evangelistic serv- 
ice at seven, besides religious meetings every night 
in the week. 

^There are also a soup kitchen, an employment agency, 
and a Dorcas Society. That there is much need of 
temporal relief may be inferred from the following 
report of Mr. Hughes : 

** It ought to be widely known that in the West 
Centre of London, close to the most fashionable and 
wealthy district in the world, there is social distress as 
well as in the East End. The poor have to pay five 
shillings and six pence a week for a room. Hence 
many families have to live in a single apartment. There 
are often ten families in a house. A woman unearthed 
by one of the sisters was forty years of age, but has 
never since she was born been a mile from the dark 
street in which she lived. Multitudes of the children 
have never seen either a green field or the sea. Until 
we established a playground in the schoolroom many 
of them did not know the commonest children's games. 
We found that some of the residents in the crowded 
back streets had never been to a place of worship, and 
very many had not been for ten, twenty and thirty 
years. Many of them had not a friend in the world." 
One of the main features of this mission work is 
the Musical Department, under the leadership of a 
competent musical director. There is one orchestral 
band of about sixty pieces, of which thirty-eight are 
stringed instruments, composed chiefly of volunteer 



THE WESLE YAN FOR WARD MO VEMENT, 213 

amateurs, who discourse instrumental music at St. 
James' Hall every Sabbath evening for a half hour 
before the service, and also lead the congregational 
singing. They also provide the Saturday afternoon 
concerts for the people at the same place. The mili- 
tary band furnishes music at the afternoon conferences. 
The Choral Society furnishes the choir at St. James* 
Hall service. There is a brass band for the outdoor 
services, and a choir of little girls to lead the singing 
at the Sunday afternoon service for young people. 
The Saturday evening concerts are intended to coun- 
teract the attractions of the neighboring music halls 
and theatres, and to furnish the young men and women 
with a high-class musical entertainment for a nominal 
admission fee. They have been well patronized by the 
class for whom they are intended, the large building 
being inadequate to accommodate all who sought 
admission. 

The Medical Department, under the charge of a 
medical director, assisted by several physicians, treats 
the sick poor at their homes or secures their admis- 
sion to a hospital. Medicines are furnished by the 
dispensary, and one of the sisters is constantly 
employed nursing the sick. 

The Sisters of the People, with their residence at 
Katherine House, devote their time to visitation in 
connection with the mission. Each sister is allotted 
a district in the slums of Oxford street and Shafts- 
bury avenue. Here she visits regularly and systemat- 
ically Soon she establishes herself as the friend of 
the poor, and becomes their instructor in spiritual 
things, and leads them to the mission service. The 
sisters also conduct girls' clubs, women's reading 
classes, mother's meetings, and other agencies. 

The Brothers are young men, engaged during the 
day in business, who have taken up their residence at 
WycHf House, fitted up for their comfort. Here they 



214 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

find all the conveniences of a Christian home. In 
return they devote their evenings to Christian work in 
connection with the mission. They hold open-air serv- 
ices, conduct prayer meetings, teach Bible classes, 
and assist in the inquiry meetings. The latest addi- 
tion to the already extensive plant of the West Cen- 
tral Mission has been Cleveland Hall, a place built by 
the secularists and afterwards used by a dance party. 
It was transformed at a cost of ;^i5oo into a mission 
hall, with a seating capacity of seven hundred. Meet- 
ings are held here every night. There are now 
about fifty religious gatherings held every week under 
the direction of the West Central Mission in various 
halls and meeting-places. 

The entire work was supported last year at a cost 
of ^8000. The mission reports one thousand mem- 
bers in the class meetings, as a result of its three 
years' work. 




CHAPTER XX. 

SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. 

TN ORDER to confine these pages within a portable 
^ volume, we must content ourselves with a brief 
notice of several societies whose interesting evange- 
listic work deserves a more detailed description. The 
following resume of their objects and methods will 
give the reader an idea, at least, of their valuable work 
in the evangelization of this great city. 

The Bible Flower Mission carries the Word of God 
into hospitals and infirmaries, by means of bouquets 
bearing an attached text of Scripture, epitomizing the 
Gospel messages, which are presented to each patient 
by a member of the society, who makes regular visits 
to the institution and becomes the personal friend and 
spiritual adviser of the sufferer. Upwards of half a mill- 
ion bouquets and Scriptural cards, besides numerous 
gifts of fruits and plants, have been distributed through 
this agency. 

The Christian Evidence Society's object is to coun- 
teract the errors of atheists, agnostics, secularists and 
all opponents of Christianity, and to defend it as a 
Divine revelation. These ends are attained by means 
of conferences, sermons, distribution of anti-infidel 
literature, and by outdoor lectures at twenty stations 
in different parts of the city. An agent of the society 
is commissioned to follow from town to town the chief 
lecturer of the National Secular Society, to accept his 
challenges and refute his arguments, from the same 
platform and before the same audience. Classes for 
the instruction of young people in the evidences of 



216 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

Christianity, correspondence with inquirers, prepara- 
tion of suitable articles for the secular press and a well- 
selected library for the use of students, are among the 
services rendered. 

The Christian Colportage Association for England 
circulates the Holy Scriptures and such other Chris- 
tian literature as is founded thereon. To attain this end 
there are employed twenty-one colporteurs in London 
alone, and seventy-three in other parts of England 
and Wales, who go from house to house, offering for 
sale the approved literature of the society, speaking to 
persons about salvation and seeking to bring individ- 
uals to a knowledge of the Truth. The Ladies' Col- 
portage Association does similar voluntary work; 
while one of their number devotes her entire time for 
the benefit of the working-girls in the City of London. 

The Commercial Traveler's Christian Association 
promotes intercourse among Christian commercial 
men, and advances the moral and spiritual welfare of 
the entire body. Prayer meetings are held at local 
centres. Copies of the Word of God are placed in 
the bedrooms of hotels, and select libraries of relig- 
ious standard literature are placed in commercial 
rooms ; moreover, sympathy and pecuniary assistance 
are extended to those in need, and a free employment 
registry, containing a list of situations vacant and 
wanted, is among its advantages. The association has 
over a thousand members. 

The Crystal Palace Bible Stand is a distributing 
centre for the Scripture and religious literature among 
the foreigners frequenting that great exhibition, es- 
pecially upon fete days the workers at the palace are 
kept busy. In a single year 15,000 copies of the 
Scriptures in various languages were given away. 
Numerous copies of the Bible are also sent out to the 
continent through the foreign bookpost. It sup- 
ports a Bible carriage and Gospel wagon, journeying 




I 



o 



g 

£ 

u 

< 

P. 

w 



SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. 217 

through the towns and villages of France, and 
furnishes Bible stands at the various expositions at 
home and abroad, thus publishing the message of 
salvation in many lands. 

The Christian Instruction Society assists in evan- 
gelizing the large masses of population in London 
and vicinity. The society stimulates Christians and 
churches to individual efforts for the salvation of souls, 
by means of conferences, deputations, and by circula- 
ting the Scriptures, religious books and tracts, and by 
preaching the Gospel in the open air, in tents, halls and 
private rooms. The Society employs a clerical agent 
to conduct special mission service in connection with 
the churches, and supports missions in the city at 
Broomley Common and Linnell road. 

The Costermongers' Christian Mission is the spir- 
itual home of the street traders, cabmen, mechanics, 
and laborers inhabiting the district of Hoxton, in 
north London. An adequate idea of the efforts put 
forth by this mission cannot be given in this brief 
notice. A description of the Costers' Hall, that mass- 
ive stone structure on the corner of Wilmer Gardens 
and Hoxton street, with its school and mission rooms 
and daily services, would require pages instead of a 
paragraph. There are connected with Costers' Hall 
thirty-five departments of mission work, and there are 
held there twenty-eight religious services every week. 
This Christian mission to the poor of London was 
commenced by Mr. Orsman, in 1861. It is conducted 
in simple dependence upon the Lord, and is supported 
entirely by the voluntary offerings of His people. One 
hundred and five helpers, together with the Superin- 
tendent, give their services gratuitously. The opera- 
tions embrace evangelistic services ; meetings for 
prayer and praise ; Bands of Hope and Mercy, and 
temperance classes for working-boys and girls ; Bible 
classes and Scripture readings ; children's services and 



218 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

Sunday school ; country holiday homes, Costers' Sick, 
Burial and Mutual Loan societies; donkey shows ; 
maternity and medical aid, convalescent cottage, 
Young Christians' Union, and open-air services. 

The East London Institute for Home and Foreign 
Missions offers a training-school for those who, feel- 
ing themselves called to the mission field, have not the 
means to prepare themselves for the work. There are 
two colleges and a training-home, with a hundred 
students of both sexes in attendance. Five hundred 
missionaries who have passed through the institution 
are now laboring in the foreign fields, all of whom have 
had practical training, while in the institution, in home 
mission work in the East End of London. The stu- 
dents and others connected with the institution reach 
at least ten thousand persons every week, in the poor 
districts of the city, by means of Gospel meetings in 
several mission halls, and three flourishing churches 
with large congregations have been organized from 
these efforts. 

The French Protestant Evangelical Church in Bays- 
water carries on an important and successful mission 
work among the French in London. In addition to 
the services in the church and mission hall, where 
three hundred foreigners hear the Gospel every Sab- 
bath, there is a home for governesses, a free registry, 
weekday and Sabbath schools, a medical mission, a 
Bible woman and two lady missionaries, who labor 
among the French residents. There are also two cir- 
culating libraries, a fresh-air mission, and numerous 
agencies for evangelistic and philanthopic work. The 
mission to foreigners, in connection with the London 
City Mission carries on a similar mission among the 
French residents in Soho ; while the Strangers' Home 
for Asiatics, Africans and South Sea Islanders, not 
only furnishes temporal comforts, but by missionary 
agencies seeks the spiritual welfare of all strangers 
who reach the port of London. 



SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS, 219 

The Evangelization Society comprises a company 
of two hundred lay preachers, principally working- 
men, who preach the Gospel in all simplicity to the 
unsaved. They conduct over one thousand evange- 
listic missions throughout Great Britain every year, 
with an estimated attendance of three million. Of 
this number 146 meetings were held in the metropo- 
lis, in churches, halls and tents into which were gath- 
ered large congregations of the artisan classes. 

The London Medical Mission for fifteen years has 
devoted its energy to alleviate the physical and spirit- 
ual distress among the poor multitudes in the notori- 
ous neighborhood of St. Giles. The medical dispen- 
sary furnishes medicines and advice to those who are 
able to apply for it, and sends out physicians and 
nurses to visit patients confined to their rooms. The 
Convalescent Home at Folkestone affords a refreshing 
treat for the sick poor, and the Holiday House near 
Sevenoaks furnishes healthful recreation to hundreds 
of delicate children during the summer months. The 
spiritual welfare of all with whom the mission comes 
in contact is diligently sought after. In addition to 
the missionary work of doctors and nurses, there are 
Gospel meetings and Bible classes for patients during 
the week, and special evangelistic services for adults, 
and Sabbath schools for children. Thrift is encour- 
aged by penny savings banks, clothing clubs, etc. 
There are also singing-classes and a lending library 
connected with the institution. 

The London Cabmen's Mission preaches the Gos- 
pel of Christ simply and earnestly to cabmen, their 
families and friends ; encourages the observance of 
the Sabbath, and distributes religious literature among 
them while on their "stands;" assists the needy, afflict- 
ed and dying in their homes ; teaches their children 
in Sabbath schools, and promotes Gospel temperance 
by meetings addressed by cabmen themselves. The 



220 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

mission hall at King's Cross, where nightly services 
and daily prayer meetings are held, forms a centre for 
this work. There is also a Home of Rest for invalid 
cabmen, who suffer so much from pulmonary affection. 

The Monthly Tract Society endeavors to reach the 
upper and educated classes by means of an evangeli- 
cal, well-written, thoughtful tract sent monthly through 
the post, to those persons whose names are sent to the 
Secretary by subscribers. For fifty years this unos- 
tentatious means of spreading the Gospel has been 
employed both at home and abroad with most blessed 
results. The Weekly Tract Society is a similar organi- 
zation for the distribution in shops and factories of a 
Scriptural tract, suitable for workingmen. 

The Navvy Mission seeks to promote the spiritual 
welfare of that large class of nomadic laborers upon 
railroads, canals, docks and public works, where they 
colonize in large numbers. There is a staff of mis- 
sionaries connected with the society, who live among 
the navvies. They hold Sabbath and weekday serv- 
ices, Sunday schools, night schools and Bible classes, 
and address the men during their dinner hour. Tem- 
perance societies and circulating libraries are organ- 
ized and a regular parochial visitation is made among 
the navvies' families. 

The Operative Jewish Converts' Institution interests 
itself in the temporal and spiritual welfare of believing 
Israelites, who can give satisfactory evidence of a belief 
in the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Messiah. These 
converts, deprived of home, despised by their Jewish 
fellows, and disowned by their parents, find all the 
comforts of a Christian home in the institution. They 
are taught a trade and instructed in the doctrines of 
Christian religion. They are sustained in the institu- 
tion for two years, until they can support themselves 
by working at their trade. A number of those who 
have passed through the home are acting as mission- 



SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. ^21 

aries among their countrymen in London and else- 
where. A successful effort has been made in behalf 
of the Jews in London, by means of special services 
in mission halls, lectures in churches, and the distribu- 
tion of suitable literature and Hebrew Testaments. 

The Society for Distributing Scripture Truths scat- 
ters the Gospel seed among the frequenters of railway 
waiting-rooms, workhouses, hospitals, prisons and 
asylums by means of rolls of Scriptural texts in large 
type, hung upon the walls, and the distribution of other 
religious publications. 

The Society for the Due Observance of the Lord's 
Day was founded to diffuse information on the subject 
by publications, public meetings, conference and such 
measures consistent with Scriptural principles as may 
appear best adapted to lead to a due observance of the 
Lord's Day in the metropolis and throughout the 
Empire. Another institution with the same ends is 
the Workingmen's Lord's Day Rest Association. 

The Railway Mission is an association composed 
of the Christian men engaged upon the railways of the 
United Kingdom. Its object is to preach the Gospel 
on the lines by means of special missions at large cen- 
tres, conducted by accredited evangelists; by establish- 
ing meetings for prayer and Bible study, and by the 
personal testimony of the members in their daily life. 
It is not only an evangelistic society, but a temper- 
ance, Bible, book and tract society, while the Con- 
valescent Home offers a boon to the men injured on 
the line. In London alone there are thirty-six branches 
of the Railway Mission, holding over a hundred meet- 
ings weekly at the various railway stations, and there 
are fifteen mission halls and twenty-one other stations, 
with all the aggressive agencies for mission work in 
full operation. Several missionaries are employed 
among the railway men and their families, and over 
one hundred women volunteers visit the homes of 



222 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREA7 CITY. 

railway employes. They supply the various stations 
with religious papers and Gospel literature. A half 
million copies of The Railway Signal^ the organ of 
the society, have been circulated on the railways. 

The Reformatory and Refuge Union, besides pro- 
viding a central association for reformatories, refuges 
and industrial schools, carries on extensive rescue 
work among destitute children, supporting two boys' 
beadles and two rescue officers. It also seeks to res- 
cue fallen women, to aid criminals on their discharge 
from prison, to secure suitable homes for criminal 
youth, to reclaim and elevate the depraved by educa- 
ting them in the fear of God, and in the knowledge 
of the Holy Scriptures. 

The Young Men's Christian Association is a busy 
hive of Christian workers and a centre of aggressive 
evangelistic effort in behalf of the young men of Lon- 
don. There are sixty-three branch associations 
scattered over the several districts of the metropolis. 
The central offices and building at Exeter Hall, Strand, 
afford every opportunity for the development of the 
spiritual, intellectual and moral life of its thirteen hun- 
dred members. In addition to the usual daily meet- 
ings and attractions, in common with all regular 
association work, we notice as special features the 
French, Swiss and Dutch Bible classes. The civil- 
service classes, workers' training-class, receptions to 
strangers in London and the seaside homes, and the 
lodging-house visitation and open-air meetings. There 
have been 3582 gatherings held in the central hall 
during the year with a total attendance of over one 
hundred thousand. This is an outline of what on a 
smaller scale is done at the sixty and more branches 
throughout the city. 

The Systematic Bible Teaching Mission is 
designed, '* by definite ^and settled lessons, to secure 
and promote the real teaching of Bible religion to 



SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. 223 

children and young people in all classes of society," 
and to reach the parents through the children, by the 
child carrying home the truth taught in the Sabbath 
schools. A course covering a number of years, and 
consisting of three departments has been prepared 
and adopted by several Sabbath schools in London. 

The Royal Association in Aid ofthe Deaf and Dumb 
provides religious and secular instruction for that 
class who are deprived by nature of the ordinary 
ministrations of the messenger of the Gospel. To 
bring the consolation of the Word of God to them, fif- 
teen services are held every week in eight different 
mission stations with which are connected preaching- 
services, schools, Bible classes, lectures, entertain- 
ments and other helpful associations. The deaf and 
dumb inhabitants of London have their own pastors, 
missionaries and Scripture readers, who visit them in 
their own homes, discover and relieve their distresses, 
secure them employment, and prepare deaf and dumb 
children for admission to the educational institutions. 

The Working-lad's Institute Association seeks to 
promote the welfare of the working-lads of the metro- 
polis. Its object is to do this by establishing in 
thickly populated neighborhoods of working people, 
institutes where the youth may spend a profitable 
evening with innocent recreation, good literature and 
classes for intellectual and moral improvement, and be 
saved from the snares of the streets, public houses, low 
theatres and music halls. The work is carried on 
upon unsectarian, Christian principles. Indeed a 
Working-lad's Institute is a Boys' Y. M. C. A., with 
all the attendant physical, mental and moral advan- 
tages, including Bible classes, evangelistic and temper- 
ance meetings. The institute at Whitechapel is an 
imposing structure from an architectural point of view. 
It contains a swimming-bath, gymnasium, dormitories 
restaurant and lecture hall, seating 550 and a large 
playground in the rear of the building. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY. 

T ONDON is the most charitable city in the world. 
-*^^ Here no worthy person need go hungry or 
homeless. Her numerous agencies afford relief to all 
who are in distress. The blind, deaf and dumb, crip- 
ples, lunatics, inebriates, imbeciles and incurables are 
tenderly provided for in numerous asylums. The sick, 
diseased and injured are carefully nourished in well- 
equipped hospitals and convalescent homes. The 
aged and incapacitated find provision made for them 
in well-endowed homes for single men and women 
and married couples. There are nurseries for infants, 
homes for industrious, and reformatories for criminal, 
youth. There are training-schools for servants, nurses 
and teachers ; employment bureaus, emigration socie- 
ties and innumerable opportunities offered for mental, 
social and moral improvement. The benevolent agen- 
cies of London are so numerous that a brief descrip- 
tion of them fills a thousand closely printed pages of 
the Charities' Register and Digest, To support these 
magnificent philanthropic enterprises it is estimated * 
that the yearly expenditure amounts to ;^2,45 7,695 ; 
and if we add the ;^2, 258,029 expended by the local 
government for the relief of the poor, the total contri- 
butions reach the enormous sum of ;£^4,7 15,724, annu- 
ally spent for benevolent purposes in London. 

In giving a brief outline of the methods and 
objects of several of the philanthropic institutions 

* See Charity Organization Review, Vol. 14, No. 44, p. 356 



PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY. ^25 

closely related to the evangelistic agencies referred to 
in previous chapters, we mention the following : 

The Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and 
Repressing Mendicity. It seeks to improve the con- 
dition of the poor by directing the great benevolent 
forces of London into the most efficient channels. To 
this end charitable centres have been established in 
the twenty-four metropolitan districts, each with an 
office, Secretary and charity agent, who investigates 
the cases of all applicants for help and supplies trust- 
worthy information thereon. All cases of relief are 
ultimately referred to the local council, composed of 
clergymen and other benevolent persons in the district, 
who co-operate with all other charitable societies. 
Each case is carefully investigated upon its own merits. 
All the facts discovered are laid before the local com- 
mittee, who dispose of the application according to the 
necessity of the case. As a result of this careful inves- 
tigation impositions are exposed, the needy are 
relieved and self-dependence is encouraged. Hospital 
care is provided for the sick, surgical apparatus is sup- 
plied to the crippled, work is secured for the unem- 
ployed, pensions are granted to the aged poor, tools 
and wares are furnished the industrious — all worthy 
applicants are freely and generously relieved. The 
society prevents overlapping by limiting the sphere 
of each agency's operations, distributes the burden 
of benevolence by referring each case to its proper 
guardian, and furnishes authentic information to all 
who desire to assist in relieving distress. 

The National Thrift Society aims to instruct the 
poor how to help themselves by teaching them eco- 
nomic habits. Thrift meetings are held in mission 
halls, coffee rooms and workmen's clubs, at which 
thrift lectures are delivered by the secretary on such 
subjects as the '' Use of Time," '' Dress," '' Amuse- 
ments," "Expenditures," etc. Thrift literature, pre- 
pared expressly by the society, is distributed and the 



226 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY. 

necessary rules, books and other requisites for local 
organizations are furnished. The society also acts as 
an agent for the best life assurance companies and con- 
tributes its commission to reduce the premiums of its 
patrons. It co-operates with temperance advocates, 
social reformers, friendly societies, building associa- 
tions and all agencies that seek to benefit the working- 
man by teaching him economic habits. 

For the health of body and mind it is necessary to 
introduce the element of beauty into the lives of the 
poor, is a sentiment that finds practical expression 
in the organization known as the Kyrle Society, 
whose object is to bring beauty home to the poor, by 
introducing whatever tends to brighten their common- 
place lives. The means employed are: First, the 
decoration (by means of mural paintings, pictures, 
mottoes, cut flowers and plants) of workmen*s clubs, 
hospital wards, mission halls, workhouses and the 
homes of the poor. Second, the securing of open 
spaces in the city for public gardens. Third, the 
organizing of volunteer choirs to perform oratorios and 
to furnish choice musical treats in halls and school- 
rooms. And, fourth, the distribution of good litera- 
ture among the poor. To fully appreciate the work of 
this society one must see the results of the service in 
the resorts of the working people. The interior of the 
Anchor Mission Hall, Tooley street, for example, has 
undergone a complete transformation under the touch 
of the artist's brush. The walls colored a light brown 
are paneled in pale primrose color, painted with 
groups of variously tinted chrysanthemums. Texts 
taken from " The Sermon on the Mount," painted in 
chocolate-colored letters on the same yellow ground, 
form a border around the room. 

Among the various institutions receiving the socie- 
ty's bounty the past year are. The Workingmen's Club, 
Battersea, which was the recipient of six landscapes 



PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY. ^227 

painted specially for the club, and framed in stained 
oak and gold. The Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciation received a donation of decorative objects and 
pictures. A ward in an East London hospital for 
children was decorated with a series of twenty-two 
panels of English wild flowers. The society's labor 
embraces the opening of several parks and public gar- 
dens in the densely populated districts, and the provi- 
sion of music in the parks ; the rendition of nineteen 
performances of oratorios and cantatas, and seventeen 
miscellaneous concerts to large and attentive audiences 
of working people. 

The People's Entertainment Society confines itself 
exclusively to providing free amusements for the peo- 
ple. The objects of this society are to cultivate a taste 
for good, high- class amusements, by giving instructive 
entertainments among the poor classes, in workmen's 
clubs, halls and institutes, in tlie hope of drawing them 
from lower places of resort ; to establish a better feel- 
ing between the different classes of society; to 
encourage the development of musical study and per- 
formance, and to support all efforts for the promotion 
of the physical and mental recreation of the people. 
During the year the society has given forty free con- 
certs in the poorer districts among the working classes. 
The halls were invariably crowded, and the attendance 
during the winter entertainments was estimated at 
forty thousand. 

The Ladies' Sanitary Association seeks to popu- 
larize sanitary knowledge by preparing for the poor 
" simple and interesting tracts on sanitary and domestic 
subjects" — over a million and a half of the society's 
publications have been circulated by the clergy, 
missionaries and others — by establishing libraries of 
popular books on subjects relating to health and social 
well-being; and by arranging for popular lectures 
on sanitary improvements and domestic economy. 



^8 THE EVAMGELIZATIOM OF A GREAT CITY, 

Practical help is also given : for example, a window is 
opened to admit air and light, a smoking chimney is 
cured, a nuisance is removed, lime for disinfectants, 
soap, baths, brushes and cooking-utensils are provided; 
mothers' meetings and classes for adult girls receive 
instruction, penny clothing and coal clubs, wash- 
houses, cooking-depots and nurseries are instituted. 
Mothers have been taught how to wash their children, 
clean their houses and cook a substantial meal. Thus 
has the society contributed ** to secure happier, purer 
and more intelligently managed homes for England, 
and a healthier, more temperate and truer manhood 
and womanhood for her sons and daughters." 

The Pure Literature Society has done much to dis- 
seminate good, interesting books and wholesome 
periodicals among the artisan classes, by introducing 
cheap, pure literature into shops and bookstalls, and 
by inducing many shopkeepers to exclude from their 
stock debasing periodicals. The society distributes 
the best literature through colporteurs and district 
visitors, secures the introduction of books and periodi- 
cals into the homes of the poor by receiving payment 
in small, weekly installments, encourages the purchase 
of libraries of good literature by furnishing them at 
half price, and assists in furnishing libraries to ships 
on long voyages. During the past year an agent 
of the society visited a thousand London newsvenders 
and succeeded in inducing many to place on sale the 
works recommended by the society. The society 
does not edit, print or publish any books or periodi- 
cals, but carefully selects those that are suitable. It 
already has a library of selected books of over four 
thousand volumes, catalogued with the price and the 
class of persons for whom they are best suited. 

The visitor to London has noticed the ornamental 
frame buildings that adorn the cabstands in different 
parts of the city. These have been erected by the 



PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY, 229 

Cabmen's Shelter Fund, for the exclusive use of the 
cabdrivers free of cost. This hard-worked class are 
compelled by police regulation to remain with their 
cabs while on the stand. Before this fund was started 
in 1875 they were exposed to all kinds of weather. 
The shelters are divided into two compartments, one is 
used as a messroom, accommodating a dozen men, the 
other as a kitchen. Each shelter is supplied with 
newspapers, periodicals and a small library. The 
attendant furnishes tea, coffee and other provisions at 
a small cost. In connection with these shelters are 
sick, provident and purchasing clubs. There are forty 
of these shelters, most of them being self-supporting, 
under the management of the committee, erected and 
fitted up at a cost of ;^200 each. They not only shel- 
ter ** cabby *' from the storms, but restrain him from 
visiting the public houses. 

The housing of the poor has become largely a 
commercial enterprise. There are numerous com- 
panies engaged in the erection of dwellings for the 
working classes ; the investment paying a good divi- 
dend. There are also several individuals devoting 
both time and money to the improvement and super- 
vision of the homes of the poor. But the most expen- 
sive philanthropic work in this overcrowded city is 
that carried on under the Peabody Donation Fund. 
The original donation of ^500,000 has accumulated 
from rent and interest until it now amounts to 
;^950,ooo. There have been erected in the poor dis- 
tricts of the city some twenty blocks of buildings, con- 
taining 5071 dwellings, divided into one, two, three 
and four rooms, housing over twenty thousand arti- 
sans and laborers, at an average weekly rent for each 
room of fifty cents and each house of one dollar and 
fifteen cents, which includes water, laundries, sculleries 
and bathrooms. One cannot appreciate the meaning 
of these cold figures until one compares the neatness, 



230 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

airiness and cleanliness of these model dwellings with the 
darkness and dampness of the neighboring tenements. 
The fact that infant mortality in these buildings is fifteen 
per cent, below that of London speaks well for their 
sanitary inspection. 

The block of model dwellings recently completed 
on the Chelsea embankment, overlooking the Thames, 
contains all the modern improvements. Each of the 
four flats will accommodate five families. A sink 
and dust-bin have been placed on every floor. In each 
room a ventilator is placed one foot from the ceiling, 
and the halls are well ventilated by means of airshafts. 
The laundry is provided with furnace, dipper, wash- 
tubs, hot and cold water and a drying-room. All the 
Peabody buildings are carefully inspected three times 
a week. There are no hawkers or beggars allowed 
inside the gates. The open courtyard around the 
building is free from carts and wagons, and affords a 
safe playground for the children. The character of the 
tenants is carefully inquired after, and they are gov- 
erned by strict sanitary rules. 

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Children, besides enforcing the neglected statutes 
in behalf of children and agitating the amendment of 
inefficient laws, enforces the Common Law and takes 
proceedings in chancery. It is the guardian of suffer- 
ing innocents; it acts as the child's defender and 
legal adviser, and places its funds at the child's 
service. It has proven an angel of mercy to thousands 
of poor, little, starved children, who were being immo- 
lated upon the same altar, where many of their prede- 
cessors had perished, before the loving arms of charity 
were spread out for their protection. The heart- 
rending cases of cruelty that have been brought before 
the society fill numerous closely printed pages. Chil- 
dren are reported as rescued from cruel immoralities, 
as dying from starvation and exposure, as suffering 



PRACTICAL PHILANTHROPY. 231 

from overwork and want of medical care, as tortured 
for the most trifling offenses, branded with hot pokers, 
kicked about the head and face with heavy boots, 
beaten with buckled straps, clubs and sticks, until their 
tender flesh was a mass of quivering sores. Many- 
children have been spared the lifelong repetition 
of such barbarities by the intervention of the society, 
and their cruel parents or guardians have been prose- 
cuted and punished. Many children have been taken 
from the place of torture to the society's shelter, where 
they have been tenderly nursed back to health and, 
if possible, placed in homes suitable to their age and 
condition. 

The Royal Society for the Assistance of Dis- 
charged Prisoners works in connection with the 
prison authorities. On the morning of their release, 
the prisoners arc accompanied by a prison official to 
the office of the society, where they are provided with 
a good breakfast, a suit of clothes suitable for the line 
of work they propose to follow, and are despatched, as 
soon as convenient, to some employment secured for 
them away from the influences of old companions. 
Wherever possible they are received by an agent 
immediately upon arrival at their destination, who pro- 
vides lodgings and secures situations for them. The 
society also cares for the wives and children of pris- 
oners during incarceration, takes charge of the money 
earned by the prisoner, and uses it to enable himself 
and family to emigrate, if practicable. The society has, 
also, for the past fifteen years, supported the West- 
minster Memorial Refuge for convict women ; but, owing 
to the decrease in the number of female prisoners, the 
committee have found this institution no longer nec- 
essary, and have determined to close it. More than 
fifteen thousand discharged prisoners have been 
assisted by the society during its history. 

The Homes for Working-boys in London accom- 
modate 350 homeless boys, between the ages of thirteen 



232 THE EVANGELIZATION OF A GREAT CITY, 

and seventeen, who earn their own living as shop 
boys and apprentices. Some of these are orphans, 
others have been deserted, while still others have been 
discharged from various reformatories and industrial 
institutions, and are without a home when they begin 
to earn a living for themselves. These eight Homes 
for Working-boys provide a family influence, and sur- 
round them with all the instruction of a Christian home. 
To press the practical philanthropy of London into 
a chapter is like pouring a gallon into a thimble. An 
interesting volume might be written upon this subject. 
Every effort is made to relieve distress, and bring the 
advantages of education and good influence to bear 
upon the artisan classes. Workmen's restaurants and 
coffee palaces are scattered over the city, where cheap, 
wholesome meals can be secured, without the tempta- 
tions of intoxicating drink. The Social Purity Alli- 
ance and the Red Cross Society desseminate, by voice 
and pen, the obligation of chastity. The Society for 
the Suppression of Vice and the Moral Reform Union 
endeavor to suppress immorality. The Shop Hours 
Labor League and the Early Closing Association seek 
to benefit toilers by securing shorter hours of labor. 
The establishment of free libraries, reading-rooms, 
university extension lectures and colleges for working- 
men, afford every facility for mental improvement. 



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